Atlantis
by Laiagarien
Summary: In response to the Cold Shoulder Challenge at WIKTT. Rating probably R to be sure. Severus’ and Hermione’s lives are endangered by Voldemort. Dumbledore protects them with the Fidelius Charm after hiding them… together. SS’ PoV.
1. Flight to Atlantis

Atlantis 

In response to the Cold Shoulder Challenge at WIKTT. Rating probably R to be sure. Severus' and Hermione's lives are endangered by Voldemort. Dumbledore protects them with the Fidelius Charm after hiding them… together. SS' PoV. 

Disclaimer: Of course, Albus, Severus and Hermione are J.K.Rowlings', not mine, as everything else you recognise. 

Second disclaimer: This is set in Hermione's seventh year at Hogwarts, which makes her legal wizarding age, certainly when you count the year she used the Time Turner. 

Third disclaimer: I am not a native speaker of English and I would appreciate every opportunity to improve my use of it. Especially Brit-picking would be _very_ welcome. Of course I would be happy to return the favour, though my strong points are OOC-ness and an overall critical view. 

-^-^-

Chapter 1 – Flight to Atlantis

The house at number 6 was barely visible. It lay further from the street than the other houses and the garden was full of high plants and trees. The gate was flanked by two tall trees, whose roots made entering the garden a bumpy ride. The driveway was made of large flat stones that by now had been overgrown with moss and grasses. The gates opened automatically and the carriage, pulled by two Thestrals, turned up the driveway. Severus saw the girl having trouble to remain seated as the carriage bumped over the threshold of tree roots. Albus Dumbledore smiled at her encouragingly. 

The old fool, putting him up with a student, and the Granger girl of all of them. Of course he was no longer safe, now Voldemort had discovered his role as a spy for Albus. And the Fidelius Charm was the only logical option. But why, why had he had to choose the same hiding place for the girl? A Mudblood, add to that. If it hadn't already been discovered he wasn't a loyal Death Eater, this would have convinced Voldemort of the fact. 

The carriage had stopped and Albus was handing the girl out. She was holding a basket that had been hissing and mewing all the time, and probably contained a cat. He followed suit and walked up to the great winged horses. He patted them on their skull-like heads and saw the girl eyeing him curiously. Probably she couldn't see the Thestrals, lucky as she was. 

Dumbledore now walked towards the large oaken front doors. "Follow me, Severus, Hermione," he said. Indicating the cracked steps leading to the entrance, he added: "Mind the steps." He entered the hall and turned around. "I will now give you a little tour of the house. As I told you, this house is property of my brother Aberforth's. He kindly offered to lend it to me when I said I needed a hiding place for two of my most trusted people. It has not been made Unplottable, but Muggles don't come near it due to some legends. And it is quite out of the common way, as you may have noticed." The girl put the basket down and opened it. Severus just saw something orange jump out and run away. 

Severus followed Albus and the girl at a little distance. Left and right Dumbledore indicated several of the paintings with a comment on them. The comments, however, were of little or no use and Severus assumed they were merely meant to distract and appease the girl. She had been sad to have to leave her friends at Hogwarts and hated the thought her parents didn't know where she was. The poor little Gryffindor, all her emotions plainly written on her face. She had not even tried to conceal her disgust at the idea of being in one house with her Potions Professor for – for only the gods knew how long. She had protested, saying she wasn't in danger, saying she wanted to help fighting Voldemort. Always wanting to help, those Gryffindors. Even at the cost of their own lives, as they had seen two years ago. Potter rushing to the help of Black, while he wasn't even in danger; then Black rushing to the help of Potter and paying for it with his life. Like the mindless dog he was. 

Dumbledore had by now finished the tour, but Severus had only taken in the strictly necessary information. A Potions laboratory had been set up in the dungeons, and his trunks had been transferred to one of the larger bedrooms. Fortunately, the girl had been disposed of in the rear part of the house, where she had her own bathroom. So they wouldn't risk walking into each other on their way to the shower. They had permission to make use of the gardens at the backside of the house, where they wouldn't be seen. There was a library, which he would explore on his own sometime, separate breakfast and dining rooms, a large drawing room, several more bedrooms and a small, house elf-sized kitchen with a very shy house elf, whose name had escaped him already. Knowing Aberforth, that is to say, he had met him once, which was more than most people could boast on, there would be some surprises in the house as well. At least this house elf wasn't insane as the one in Grimmauld Place, and it had kept the house in good order. 

"Well, so far the tour of the house," said Dumbledore, beaming as usual. "I think the time has now come to cast the Fidelius Charm. I hope you have read up on it?" The girl nodded vehemently, while Severus contented himself with one brief nod. "As you know then, you both will have to cast it. Do you trust me as your Secret-Keeper?" Again, they nodded. It was needless to say anything. Dumbledore knew he was the only one Severus would trust as his Secret-Keeper, as he had been the only one to trust him when he turned sides. The girl should know as well as he did that Dumbledore was the only one Voldemort had ever feared. They both took their wands and pointed them at Dumbledore's heart. At the same time they said the incantation. 

"_Fidenter secretum mihi te credo."_ Both spoke in hardly more than a whisper, but nevertheless Dumbledore was covered in a light blue aura for a second. Then the light faded away as if nothing had happened. The words were, as in most complex charms, not the hardest part. What mattered was the faith behind them, the faith in the Secret-Keeper. And that is hard to find, in a life-threatening situation. 

They stood in silence for a while. Severus clearly felt the consequence of what they just had done. Now they were beyond the point of going back; he would have to put up with the girl for as long as it was necessary. Then Dumbledore moved toward the door and while they followed he spoke again: 

"This done, I think I should go. My attention is needed elsewhere. I believe everything is clear. When something important happens, I'll send Fawkes with a message. I trust you not to kill each other. Good day," he ended merrily. He nodded to the girl. "Hermione," another nod, this one in his direction, "Severus."

"Yes, for you it's easy, leaving us behind," Severus scorned. "Goodbye." Next to him, a tiny voice said goodbye as well. He looked down at the girl and said she was on the brink of tears. Yes, he thought, she should be. For her, Albus is the last oasis of kindness before a desert of cruelty. As if he was looking forward to being locked in a cage with the nightmare of every teacher. 

-^-^-

Author's Notes: Fidenter secretum mihi te credo = Confidently I trust you with my secret.


	2. The Sunken City

Chapter 2 – The Sunken City

When the carriage had left, he stepped outside to take a look at the front of the house. Unlike the interior, the exterior looked as if nobody had taken care of it for the past hundred years – which probably was the case. The front of the house was perfectly symmetrical, with above the oaken front doors a rather large loggia. On the ground floor the windows reached almost from floor to ceiling. The windows on the first floor were smaller, each positioned exactly above one on the ground floor. The second floor had only very small windows, but still placed exactly symmetrical. Ivy grew over most of the facade and draped the loggia like hangings of green velvet. Beneath the ivy red brick walls were barely visible. The [limestone] roof was overgrown by moss as was the driveway. 

He decided to go inside and inspect the basement laboratory. Then he would take a shower and unpack and see whether the house elf was a decent cook. 

The laboratory was large, probably nearly as large as the surface of the house – he remembered the kitchen was also in the basement. Small windows just beneath the ceiling enabled daylight to get in, but there were chandeliers for when that was not sufficient. There were cupboards, stocked with potions' ingredients, common as well as the more rare and dangerous. Workbenches at a nice height for working standing flanked places where a fire could be lit. Chains to hang a cauldron above the fire dangled from the ceiling. Reluctantly, Severus gave Albus credit for thinking of his needs. 

Swiftly he climbed the two flights of stairs that leaded to his rooms. Dumbledore had chosen him a joined study and bedroom to the left side of the house, with a bathroom next to it. Again, he had to give the old fool – as he called him often in his mind – credit. He didn't have to stroll the house in his dressing gown with the risk of meeting Miss Granger. The study had two large windowed doors that led to the loggia. The bookcases had already been filled with most of his books and a large amount of magazines was piled up on the desk. A large, old chair with green velvet clothing was standing next to the fireplace. The curtains as well as the hangings of the four-poster bed were in dark green velvet. Severus wondered idly whether Aberforth was by any chance a Slytherin. 

He undressed and turned on the shower. The one advantage of the discovery of his spying career was that he didn't have to play the Death Eater anymore. At Hogwarts, there were always the children of the Death Eaters that could betray him. Here, he did not have to worry about that: there was only one student, and she was certainly _not_ a Death Eater's daughter. 

He decided to keep up all appearances of a normal life and dressed in full robes. Whatever the girl choose to wear, he certainly would not drop decorum in front of a student just because a twist of fate had put him up with her. 

When he went down to dinner – it was already past seven – the girl wasn't there yet. The dining room was majestic; it had a long table of dark wood in the middle, with at least twelve high-backed chairs around it. He walked towards the fireplace and stumbled over something. It squeaked and ran away, brush-like tail high up in the air. The cat. Of course the girl had taken her cat as well. He heard a 'pop' and saw the head of the house elf appear in the fire. 

"Dinner is ready, Master. Shall Lizzy find the young mistress and serve you, sir?" So, it was called Lizzy. 

"She would no doubt like that," he answered sarcastically. Of course, sarcasm was lost on this house elf as on all others. "And she is _not_ "the young mistress" and will never be, do you understand that?" he continued in a harsh tone. The elf nodded, its great eyes shining with tears and its head disappeared. 

Ten minutes later, the girl entered. He shot her a short look. She looked as if she had been crying, with swollen eyes and a red nose. She still wore her school robes. They ate in silence. 

The elf – Lizzy, he reminded himself – was indeed a decent cook. Dinner had not been like the ones at Hogwarts, of course, but certainly better than those of most of his childhood. When they both had finished eating, or playing with their food, like the girl did, he left with a curt bow. She didn't respond. He headed towards the study and grabbed one of the magazines from the desk. He settled himself in the chair by the fire and started reading. 

As soon as he had dressed and shaven the next morning, he went down to the breakfast parlour. He asked the elf to make him a cup of coffee, and it went to the kitchen to do so. That minute, the girl entered. She still looked as harassed as the night before and her robes were wrinkled as if she had slept in them. What she probably had. As soon as she saw him, she tried to get away, probably hoping he hadn't seen her yet. Regrettably, for her, he had.

"Good morning, Miss Granger. Did you sleep well?" he asked, knowing she had not. She tried to hide it, though. 

"Morning, Professor," she answered timidly. "I did, sir, thank you. And you?" With a little more bravery she returned his question. 

"I slept very well, Miss Granger, thank you." With a hint of sarcasm. Then the elf came in with his coffee. He took the mug, folded his long fingers around it and watched the elf mollycoddling the girl. 

"But you must eats something, miss. If you don't eats, you'll loses your strength. I mades a nice toast and eggs for miss, miss. Come, eats." The girl obliged, seemingly happy with the fussing of the elf. Of course, she probably had been used to this kind of meddling from childhood. The breakfast parlour was less impressive than the dining room. It had a smaller table, with not as many chairs around it as the dining table, but nevertheless enough for four times the present number of occupants. The walls were neatly papered in a kind of yellow and brightened by some paintings, whose images eyed their guests curiously. Not feeling like a chat with a mere wall ornament at the moment, Severus finished his coffee and left. The girl was still eating everything the elf putted in front of her. Severus remembered some stories he had heard in the year of the Triwizard Tournament, about Miss Granger wanting sick leave and wages for the Hogwarts House Elves. Presumably she didn't want to insult this example of the species. Good, as long as she did the public relations, he didn't have to. 

He headed for the library, assuming the girl would take a shower after breakfast so he would have some time to explore the collection. When he entered, he was slightly taken aback. Of course, the Hogwarts library was larger, but this was the largest private library he'd ever seen. It was superior to the library at Malfoy Manor, but then the Malfoys weren't that much interested in books. He supposed the room, or hall, had once been a ballroom, but was turned into a library. Indeed, it stretched two levels of the house. The high ceiling consisted of two hemispheres in which the stars were painted true to their real positions, and as he would notice later, moving in accordance to their position in the sky. Bookcases covered the walls on three levels, accessible by tiny winding staircase. In the middle of the room there was another great table, already equipped with quills, ink and parchment. There were three large windows; positioned so high even he could not look out of them, with small stands beneath and flights of steps towards them. Over the huge mantelpiece hung a large mirror and comfortable chairs were placed around it. 

A tome of about three foot high was lying on the table. On examination, it showed to be a catalogue of the library's collection. Severus contented himself with the thought that at least in the Potion's assortment there was nothing he didn't have at least read. In the other subjects, however, he had a lot to learn according to this list. There were shelves full of Alchemy, Astronomy and Arithmancy, cases of Transfiguration, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures (and what Magical Creatures never to take care of), there was a little corner with books on Divination, and another, rather dusty, one which covered History of Magic. There were books in Ancient Runes, Latin and ancient Greek as well as English and most other European languages. There had to be about a mile of books on Charms, Hexes, Jinxes and Curses, and how to defend oneself against them, as well as some bookcases with classical Muggle literature. 

Severus decided that, since he was an outcast in the magical world now anyway, he could as well try some Muggle literature. He took a volume called 1984 and settled himself by the fire. 

-^-^-

He had completely lost track of time when he heard the library door open. The girl entered and looked around, as surprised as he had been. She had at least taken a shower; she looked certainly less ruffled than she had done at breakfast. He watched her slyly, wondering what subject she would head to. She walked towards the catalogue on the table and seemed to peruse it rather intently. Then she walked to the Muggle literature department, looked it through twice and headed back to the catalogue. She mumbled something he didn't understand from the distance, and then went back to the bookcase where she had been looking before. She mumbled something again, and, the girl being closer, this time he understood: "It ought to be here, it's in the catalogue!" 

"Are you by chance looking for this?" he asked softly, holding up the book. She jumped, visibly. Apparently she hadn't noticed him sitting there before. "Er… well… er… actually, yes, sir," she stammered. Regaining her composure and her usual – rather annoying – habit of having an answer to everything, she continued: "I've read it some years ago and on seeing it in the catalogue, I thought I'd like to read it again. I didn't know you read Muggle literature, Professor." 

To hell with her, he thought. I am not going to share my reasons for reading this. "Well, I imagine you wouldn't know a lot of me, miss Granger. If you just let me finish it, it would be all yours by tomorrow." 

"Yes, sir. I will take some other book for now, then." She returned to looking at the Muggle collection and at length chose another tome, took it to the table and settled there. Obviously, she chose avoiding his nearness rather than settling in one of the more comfortable chairs. Well, at least she wasn't trying to force him to drop decorum and act in a family way, just because they were not at Hogwarts. 

Another indefinite amount of time later, the elf came in and coughed. Here, he could probably rely on the girl to do the talking. And indeed. 

"What is it, Lizzy?" she asked in a voice he was sure only girls could muster. 

"It has being lunchtime long ago, miss, but you did not seem hungry. Woulds you likes something to eating?" He stood up from his chair, nearly causing the elf to run back to the kitchen. The girl looked and he nodded, so she replied they would eat. 

After the meal, the girl walked towards the door, but before reaching it she stopped and turned. "Professor Snape?" she asked hesitantly. He nodded. "Well, I er… just wondered whether you could continue teaching me Potions. I hoped to get back to Hogwarts before N.E.W.Ts. I've seen the laboratory and I thought…" her voice trailed off, obviously waiting for some kind of reaction. Again, he nodded, but then realised that wouldn't be enough. 

"I agree to teaching you, but only during the time I would have taught seventh years at Hogwarts. The usual double periods. And I will expect you to do homework, Miss Granger. Do I make myself clear?" Now she nodded. Absently he noted she seemed even happy to be assigned homework. "Right. Then your first essay will be six feet of parchment on Invisibility Infusions and Concealment Concoctions. Similarities, differences, ingredients, preparations, advantages and disadvantages in comparison to other means of disguise. To be handed in by the day after tomorrow, nine o'clock in the laboratory, when I will oversee you brewing both potions."

She turned to the door and left in a hurry. Presumably couldn't wait to get started, he thought. 


	3. Breathing Without Air

Chapter 3 – Breathing without air

After two days of reading books, mostly Muggle literature, Severus – although he would never admit it – looked forward to teaching. Even the Granger girl. Nine o'clock sharp, she was present in the library, carrying a stack of parchment with a quill and inkwell balancing rather dangerously on top, a cauldron dangling at her side. She put her load on a table, settled behind it and looked at him expectantly. 

"As I said, I will oversee you brewing the Invisibility Infusion and Concealment Concoction. Usually, I don't let students make those, because of the obvious abuse of samples that happen to disappear in pockets. Now, however, I consider abuse quite useless. If your research has been sufficient, you should be able to make the potions by yourself. But first, hand in your essay." She did as he requested, then took a sheet of notes and started to prepare her cauldron. He settled in a chair and started to read her essay, which was significantly beyond the six feet he had mentioned – while six feet usually caused some dark looks among the students. 

He actually had to give her credit for thinking – as opposed to merely copying from books. Her essay contained a lot of information of sensible nature, of which he couldn't recall reading anything in the textbooks he had seen in the library catalogue. Her comparison of the Invisibility Infusion to wearing an Invisibility Cloak was nothing new, of course; most students managed to come to that point. But the association of the Concealment Concoction with the Disillusionment Charm was more than most students could boast on. Of course, that could have something to do with that particular charm not being taught at Hogwarts – for the same reasons he didn't usually teach these potions. He stole a look at her work. As the Invisibility Infusion now had to simmer and thicken for an hour, she had taken to preparing the ingredients of the other potion. He stood up and hung another cauldron above a fireplace, so she did not have to wait for the Infusion to be finished and bottled to continue. 

Then, in a split second, he realised he would now have time for something he had wanted to do for a long time: research. He had wondered for a while now whether he could adapt the Polyjuice Potion in order to use it to change to animals. Not that it would be a very useful discovery, but except for a cure to death there wouldn't be such a discovery to make. But by lack of test subjects, he had to make some potion to cure tail growths and excess fur first. 

He started to clean out one of the greater cauldrons and hung it above a fireplace. He lit a fire, allowing the cauldron to heat up, and started to gather the ingredients from the stocks. He knew these recipes quite well, for Poppy Pomfrey always wanted to have something in store and it had a relatively short period of safe use. That and the long periods it needed to simmer made he was tending to these potions almost once a week. He started dicing a large piece of mandrake root, then weighed the proper amount and put it in the cauldron. While cleaning a bezoar – you never knew what _else_ was in a goat's stomach – he sensed someone eyeing his movements. He decided to play nice. 

"Miss Granger, are you finished?" Of course, he knew as well as he hoped she did that both potions now had to rest for a while in order to gain stability. 

"No, sir. The potions now have to rest and I wondered what you were doing." She managed to state and ask it at the same time. 

"I am preparing a potion to cure tail growths now. I believe you have some first-hand experience with that?" he sneered. She blushed a nice, dark scarlet and turned away, then her curiosity gained the overhand. 

"How… how did you know that, sir?" 

"There were ingredients missing from my private stores right after an incident with Swelling Solution. You ended up in the hospital wing about a month later covered in black fur. Don't you think I could do the math?" He answered shortly. The girl headed back to her own cauldron, checking something that needn't to be checked for another quarter of an hour.

When his own potion was in a stage that didn't need his presence, he decided to check on her potions. He knew he didn't have to monitor her as closely as most of his moronic students. The Concealment Concoction had the right colour, odour and thickness. He summoned a phial and filled it with her Invisibility Infusion: it contained now a thick liquid, at the same time colourless and all colours of the rainbow. He did something that was out of character for him:

"Perfect, Miss Granger, as usual. At N.E.W.T.-level, I would say an 'O'." Again, she flushed scarlet, from pleasure he suspected. Then, a feeling in his stomach reminded him it was lunchtime. 

-^-^-

For about two weeks, they barely spoke to each other, each maintaining the usual student-teacher relationship. During mealtimes, they would sometimes discuss household matters, but with an active house elf, there was barely anything left to do. Occasionally, there would be news from Dumbledore. During the usual hours he would teach her, as he would have taught the whole class. She seemed to enjoy making homework for him and did extensive research. In his free time, he made the antidotes he would need for his research. She still eyed his cauldrons curiously, obviously wanting to know what he made the potions for but not daring to ask. 

Then, after one of her lessons, she stopped gathering her belongings. He was reading the essay she had written, about uses of dragon blood. 

"Professor?" she asked tentatively. He grunted something, which she took as an encouragement to continue.

"May I ask to what purpose you are making those potions? Are you going to send them to Madam Pomfrey?" she asked. He hesitated, and then decided to answer the truth. 

"Actually, Miss Granger, I make them for a purpose of my own. I am going to do some research, and if that goes wrong, I will need those potions." Her eyes lit up at the word research, but he saw her restraining her emotions. She thought for a while, then asked:

"Do you want to make a potion to turn into an animal?" He tried to hide his surprise at her guessing correctly, but failed. She shrugged her shoulders and said: 

"I know such a potion does not exist yet, and if you make antidotes for turning back human…" Right, he thought, so you can do the math as well. He then voiced a thought he had had since he thought of doing research. 

"Miss Granger, would you like to do research on Potions?" Her face flashed in a strange expression, as if it could not choose between surprise and happiness.

"Oh, yes, Professor, I would love that!" she exclaimed; then, more subdued: "Are you serious, sir?" 

No, I'm Severus, he thought, and a smirk got to his lips. She saw it and misunderstood. Her expression went from happiness to downcast in a moment and she turned to leave. When she had reached the door, Severus called her back. 

"Miss Granger," he said softly. She turned around. "I was indeed serious. I have seen your work the last six years and you are miles ahead of your peers. As we are locked up here together, we had better put our time to good use. This potion will be finished by tomorrow. I suggest you read a little on the subject, so we can start practical research here tomorrow." It seemed he couldn't have chosen his words better. For a second, she looked as though she could run to him and embrace him. He was relieved to see that change into a more solemn happiness and a determination not to disappoint him. 

-^-^-

Author's Note: Please review! I will really try to get your suggestions in!


	4. Drowning

Chapter 4 – Drowning

The following morning they started their research as planned. He was slightly surprised to see she could not only follow instructions provided by textbooks, but that she had ideas of her own as well. It was her idea to leave the boomslang skin out, because it could have too much influence compared to the part of the animal you wanted to be. Reluctantly he agreed she had a good point there, but argued the boomslang was needed in a shape-changing solution, as it shed its skin and changed shape. Their greatest problem was the lack of test subjects. Without a trained mediwitch in vicinity, both were reluctant to test any of it themselves. And as it was meant to change humans into animals, they couldn't try the actual effect of the potion on mice. 

In the end, the girl offered to try the potion. He put some of it in a goblet and added one hair of the cat, Crookshanks as it was called fittingly. The girl looked slightly scared, but took the goblet and drained it. For a while, nothing happened. 

Suddenly she started to shrink quickly, her legs and arms getting the same length. Her face, however, remained human and she grew neither fur nor tail. He cursed inwardly, while she was, understandably, on the verge of crying. 

"What do we do now, Professor?" she asked in a high and squeaky voice that trembled with tears. He thought in silence and decided there was only one possible solution. 

"A Mandrake Restoration Draught. Regrettably I haven't thought of preparing that, but it should be finished in about two days." He walked to the cupboard to get the ingredients. Swiftly and silently, he prepared the ingredients. She walked towards the bench where he was working and looked up pleadingly. 

"Could you please lift me up, sir?" she asked. "I would like to know what you're doing." Of course, he thought, doing what she had asked him to do. She obviously didn't trust him anymore. It was awkward, lifting this creature, human in cat's shape. She looked like some photo's he had seen once, from some disastrous Muggle medicine, that made baby's being born with hands attached to the shoulders, without proper arms in between. He just hoped the mandrake would cure this, or he could never face Albus again. Not to speak of his own conscience, that had already enough to process.  

-^-^-

Two days later he checked the Draught and asserted it ready. He hadn't seen the girl – or cat – since he had prepared the ingredients. He assumed she had been too embarrassed to show herself and probably even too shocked too eat. Not wanting to have to explain to the house elf that she had to go and fetch a girl that had half changed into a cat, he decided to go himself. He bottled a dose of the Mandrake Restoration Draught and headed for her rooms. He knocked at the door and thought he heard a faint squealing voice say, "Come in." When he opened the door, he didn't see her at once, curled up as she was in one of the chairs by the fire. He cleared his throat.

"The Mandrake Restoration Draught is ready." He announced. "I thought you would want to take it as soon as possible." She jumped off the chair and stretched rather cat-like. Doubt and relief were trying to show on her incompatible features. 

"Could you help me take that, sir?" she asked reluctantly. She had to hate asking him for a favour. She would probably have prepared the mandrake herself, had she physically been able to. He knelt down and held the phial before her. She smelled it and shivered. Then a determination came on her face and she swallowed the liquid he poured into her mouth. 

It took only a split second to start working. Nonplussed, he watched her while she grew to normal, human proportions again. After a few seconds, she was standing before him, looking like she had done before the… accident. He realised, suddenly, he was still kneeling before her, now rather too close to be comfortable. There was no way for him to get up without touching her, and she would certainly not want that. He remained where he was, waiting for her to back away, get away from him as soon as she had the chance. She didn't, though. She raised a hand, tentatively, but thought the better of it and dropped it again. 

"Er… thank you, sir." She finally said. His mind raced. She was half turned into a cat, by his doing, and now he had brewed a potion he wasn't even certain of that it would work, and now, while he was kneeling before her, she _thanked_ him? He struggled to regain his composure and the control of his voice, but then asked in a polite, but cool, voice: "What would you be thanking me for, Miss Granger?" He regretted that his position prevented him from radiating his usual demeanour. It had its effect, somehow. While she stepped aside, he rose from his awkward pose and crossed his arms. 

"I thank you for allowing me to get a human body again, instead of leaving me as half a cat, as I would think you capable of," she answered in a matching coldness. 

"Miss Granger," he tried, "I would by no means leave you in that…" he hesitated, not wanting to insult her now. 

"Oh, you wouldn't, would you? Glad to get rid of the nightmare of every teacher, always asking questions and giving answers. The most annoying student Hogwarts has hosted ever since… you, probably. It surprises me you didn't poison me before, it would have been easy enough, wouldn't it?" she interrupted. He started to loose his, already small, amount of patience. 

"Yes, Miss Granger," he said coldly. "It would have been rather easy to poison you, and right now, I regret that I didn't. It would have been the perfect opportunity to leave this place. With you, the threat to the Dark Lord's existence, dead, I would be welcomed amongst his followers again." 

"Well then, poison me, or use Avada Kedavra straight away, as you have done so many times before, Death Eater." She managed to spit out the last two words. "I can't imagine being killed worse than being forced to live in a house with you, anyway." 

"How very…" he paused, sounding truly dangerous now. "…Gryffindor, Miss Granger." He continued. "Of course, I should have known. All Gryffindors would elect death over having to live with a Death Eater. Just like the Potters." He snapped. 

"It was different with Harry's parents!" she protested. _How would you know, girl, where you there_? "Voldemort had come to kill their son! They saved his life, like his father saved yours!" A well-aimed, poisonous sting. He now voiced his previous thoughts. 

"How would you know, girl?" letting the last word sound as an insult. "Where you there?" This one seemed to have a little impact on her. 

"You know as well as I do that I wasn't there. But they told us, Professor Lupin and the Headmaster. They told us how Harry's father saved you from a full-grown werewolf. You had a life debt with him, you know?" Right into one of his sensitive spots. 

"Of course I know. And I paid the debt, twice, for your information. The second time I saved the life of a Potter was when you so kindly set my robes on fire. The first time was when I told Dumbledore that the Potters were to be attacked. It was _me_ who told the Dark Lord he had to go there on his own." He snapped, now truly enraged. "She was a Mudblood, like you." 

"I understand you perfectly now. The only reason you let me in on your so-called research was to get a test subject. A worthless Mudblood, not much better than a guinea pig. You are a true Death Eater, whatever Dumbledore may think of you. And would you now be so kind as to leave my rooms? I believe we don't have to spend any time together." She said in a sneer he didn't think her capable of. 

"Do you expect me to be dismissed like a student who has just got a reprimand, Miss Granger? I would like you not to forget our mutual positions, in which I was the superior, last time I checked." 

"Very well, _Professor_" she said with emphasis on his title. "I will leave this room now. Would you please be so kind as to close the door after you have left?" she said, while turning towards the door with a swish of her robes. 

"I hate the way you think you can throw my flaws into my face and get away with it," he sighed. 


	5. Oceans Frozen

Chapter 5 – Oceans Frozen

They managed to keep out of each other's sight quite well, he thought. For a month, he had kept to his rooms, mostly, and taken to visiting the library only by night. He supposed she visited it by day, leaving it as soon as she could. He had his food served wherever he was occupied, studying or making potions. The house elf seemed more subdued now, as if it sensed the tension that hung in the house. 

He made his way towards the library. It was well past midnight, so he would be sure the girl wasn't there any more. She kept mostly to the usual Hogwarts bedtimes. He entered and walked towards the Herbology section. He took the book he wanted and made to leave, but then discovered a tiny figure in one of the chairs by the fire. _So she had forgotten the time_. He continued towards the door when he heard a strange sound. The girl was crying. _Just great_. Well, she probably wouldn't want him to comfort her anyway, but maybe she could do with some anger to distract her. 

"Miss Granger?" he asked softly while approaching her. 'Are you all right' seemed stupid. He settled for: "What is the matter?" She didn't look up and he noticed she was holding two letters. With a 'may I?' he took them from her hand. He noticed the Ministry of Magic crest on one of them, which usually didn't mean anything good. The other one was blank, but he recognised Albus' handwriting. 

_Hermione,_

_Please accept my deepest condolences for the loss of your parents. I will myself act as your legal attendant for the time being, taking care of the formalities involving the Ministry of Magic. _

_I am sorry to tell you that safety does not allow you to be present at their funeral services on your own. However, I consider it a way of proving their death, and thence an important step towards accepting it. I shall write to Severus, separately, to entreat him into accompanying you. _

_Yours sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

He folded the letter again and opened the other one, though he already knew what would be there. Indeed, it read:

_Dear Miss Granger,_

_We regret to have to inform you Mr. E. Granger and Mrs. R. Granger have been involved in a Death Eater attack. To our deepest repentance, neither has survived. _

_We understand that you are the nearest living relative of Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Consequently, there are some formalities that must be taken care of. We will be expecting you or your legal attendant to deal with this in due time. _

_Hoping to have you informed adequately, I remain,_

_Yours faithfully_

_Antigone Dunhard,_

_Office of Muggle Relations_

Her parents killed, and both of them. No wonder she cried. And they were killed because of her, he was sure of that. The Dark Lord had probably gone to her parents to get her killed, after he had heard she was not at Hogwarts any longer, and when she had turned out to be somewhere else, he had killed the Muggles just for the fun of it. Not that the Dark Lord would not have killed them, had the girl been there. Severus had seen enough of him to know that much. And, what was worse, he knew she knew that as well. 

He now looked for the letter that would be addressed to him. He had to know what Albus was expecting of him before he could deal with the crying girl in front of him. Besides, he sought for an excuse to postpone that. Crying was a reasonable way of showing grief. Not that he himself would indulge in showing his emotions, but with Gryffindors, it was different. 

The letter was lying on the table, probably where Fawkes had left it. The envelope was as plain as the one addressed to the girl. The message contained not only the entreat to accompany her to the funeral, but also was meant to persuade him to help her say a few words. There had to be some sort of acknowledgement from her as to her parents' death. Of course, Albus kindly reminded him, these were Muggles, so he had to dress like one as well. 

Just great, he thought. A Muggle funeral was something he always had wanted to attend. Sarcasm even in his thoughts. Having finished the letter, he ran out of excuses for not comforting the girl. So he'd better get it over and done with. 

"I am sorry for your loss, Miss Granger," he ventured. "Truly sorry." 

The girl looked up at him, face wetted with tears. She looked, apart from the grief, incredulous at hearing him condole her. Then her face hardened.

"You should be," she said. "This is all your fault." He sighed in relief. Unlike crying, irrational anger was something he could deal with. She took his sigh the wrong way, though. 

"Yes, your fault," she repeated. "Sigh as much as you like, _Professor_, it doesn't change a thing. _My_ parents have been murdered by _your_ friends. You should be glad, you know. Two Muggles less in the whole wide world. Does it feel different to you, now? Why don't you kill their Mudblood daughter at once? No one will miss me now, you know," she almost shouted the last sentences, still sounding hoarse with tears. 

"Miss Granger," he tried to intervene. "I by no means wish to kill you, nor did I wish for your parents to die." She shook her head in disbelief. 

"Oh no, of course you didn't. A Death Eater who doesn't want to kill Muggles and Mudbloods. Don't try to make me laugh, now, you never did that before. I have no reason to laugh, now. My parents are dead. Dead. Unlike some people," glaring at him malevolently, "I have feelings. I love my parents… loved," she corrected herself. "Now they're dead. Dead. And it's all. Your. Fault." At the last sentence, she had jumped up and leapt towards him. Now she was battering her fists against his chest. He suspected she'd rather want to beat his head, but just couldn't reach it. He was after all still one head taller than she. He let her channel her rage against him, as there would be no reasoning with her before she had done that. 

Finally, she seemed to reach her limits. Breathing heavily with both grief and exhaustion, she was once again reduced to a crying figure in one of the armchairs. He drew the other one nearer and put a hand on one of her shoulders. 

"Miss Granger," he tried again, softly. "As I have not tried to kill you, maybe you will believe me now if I say I am truly sorry for your loss." She looked up, then nodded briefly through her tears

"Albus wrote me to accompany you to the funeral, to make sure you are safe." Again, she nodded. 

"Besides, he wrote something should be said on your parents' behalf. Are you up to that?"  She nodded and opened her mouth to say something, but thought the better of it. 

"What is it, Miss Granger?" he asked in as kind a tone as he could muster.

"Well, my parents were Muggles. Dentists. So all people attending the funeral will be Muggles too. Can you… will you…" she trailed off, seemingly afraid to ask her question. 

"Are you asking me whether I will be wearing Muggle clothes?" She nodded. "Then rest assured, Miss Granger. Hard to imagine as it might be, I do wear Muggle clothes sometimes." Then, despite himself, he added: "Fortunately it is a funeral, so I won't stand out wearing black." Despite herself, the girl smiled.

-^-^-

Four days later, Severus and Hermione walked up to the church. They had Apparated into the house of the girl's – late – parents, where nobody would see it. She had explained the route to the church and changed her speech once more. Severus drew his black Muggle raincoat closer round his body. Next to him, he felt the girl do the same. As fit at a funeral, rain was pouring down and it was cold, being the end of November. He regretted having to wear this rag, instead of his warm cloak, but that would stand out too much. Safety did not allow anything unusual. 

In the small village church two coffins were standing near the altar, both closed but with a framed picture standing on top of each. He shivered; he knew the bodies inside would indeed not be fit to be shown, considering their death cause. Certainly not if said cause was to be concealed for Muggles. He remembered the excuse that had been given to Muggle media – a gas leak. There had been far too many gas leaks in Britain during the last two years, he thought cynically. 

He took a seat at the right side of the front row, leaving one seat open for the girl. There was no danger of anyone coming near her this way, as everybody always steered clear of him. Indeed, the row filled, but the two seats to his left were kept free. As there were not many direct relatives, only some uncles and aunts of the girl and a few distant relatives, the public mainly sought to sit as much to the back of the church as possible without being impolite. 

The pictures seemed to be staring at him. Of course, they were Muggle pictures. Severus made an effort not to imagine how the public would react if the faces suddenly disappeared, or started waving at their daughter. He received a nudge in his left side. Apparently the priest had finished saying appropriate words and it was time for her speech. When she rose, he did the same. He would go standing a little behind her, to be able to intervene if necessary. 

Getting behind the stand, he wondered what the black thing was meant for. Then he realised the voice of the priest had sound strange, as if he had used a Sonorus Charm. Probably, this was the Muggle equivalent, a microphone, he remembered. 

"We are here," she started softly, but her voice wasn't amplified like the priest's. Then, she had to do without. The acoustics of a church were similar to his dungeons' acoustics. She started again, this time loud enough for the whole church to hear, but without raising her voice. _She would make a good teacher,_ he thought.

"We are here to take leave of Robert and Elizabeth Granger." The Ministry of Magic, secure as it was in dealing with times and other things they detected themselves, had mixed up the initials of the girl's parents. It was not unusual for them to be imprecise in their dealings with Muggles, but that didn't make the mistakes less painful. 

"Their untimely death has, of course, caused me a great shock, as I was at school at the time." A murmur of consent from the audience. "As things are, my presence here does put my own life in serious danger." Some gasps. "Nevertheless, I would like to say some words on their behalf." And with that, she lapsed into some facts and remembrances about two people she hadn't even seen for the last two years. 

After her speech, the priest took over again. First, with only half a smirk in Hermione's direction, he fumbled at the microphone. Then, with amplified voice, he invited the guests to go to the graveyard, to pay the last respects to Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Eight gloomy-looking men, clad in black, came in through a side door and made for the coffins. They positioned around them, four to each body, and perfectly synchronous they lifted the coffins and bore them out of the church. Severus followed, directly after the relatives. Without looking, he felt the presence of the girl next to him. 

The pouring rain had now become an icy drizzle. They walked to a rather distant part of the graveyard, where a great hole already had been dug. Wooden boards were lying around the edges. Without much of a ceremony, but still perfectly synchronous, ropes with hooks were attached to the handles of the coffins and they were lowered into the grave. When the ropes were loosened and the men had gone away, the priest said some words again. 

"Let us now, as a last goodbye, walk along the grave and hold a moment of silence in honour to the dead." This time, Severus took back, standing next to the grave, his head bowed in silence, knowing that the girl would wish to remain here as long as possible. At last, when everybody had departed, the priest shot them a strange look and left as well. 

Now Severus and Hermione took off as well, she trailing a little behind him. When they were gone, two roses, a red so dark it was nearly black, were lying on the coffins. 

-^-^-

Author's Note: Thanks for all the lovely reviews!


	6. Thaw in December

Chapter 6 – Thaw in December

The month of December passed, if not in mutual friendship, at least not in the open hostility that had marked most of November. Now, however, a little of the resentment was rising again as Christmas approached. He supposed his company could not make up for the loss of her parents and the absence of her so-called friends. In sympathy with Potter, she had spent all of her holidays since her first year at Hogwarts – except the one after the attack on Arthur Weasley. He still thought Potter and Weasley merely took advantage of their friendship with the girl, while she put up with it by lack of real friends. 

When Severus got to the breakfast parlour on December 23rd, he noticed someone had decorated it. Judging from the face of the girl and the style of decorating, he surmised Albus had paid them a visit. From the day of the funeral on, Severus had forced himself to meet the girl at least at meals. Despite himself, he felt not a little responsible for her well-being. 

On examining the chimneypiece, he discerned several Merry Christmas cards. Of course all cards were for the girl, except the one Albus had sent them. The senders certainly didn't know where, and with whom, the girl was hiding, otherwise they wouldn't have wished her a Merry Christmas, but something like Good Luck – or condoled her right away. Which reminded him of the fact not a single condolence card had been sent after the death of her parents. 

The girl had to be immerged in the same kind of thoughts, he thought. She looked rather worse than she had done during the last two weeks. She had been putting up some kind of show for him, he guessed, not wanting to show him how she really felt. Now, however, she wasn't able to hide it. 

"Miss Granger," he asked. "Are you all right?" She looked up, suddenly more furious than sad.

"Do I look 'all right', Professor?" Wrong question, indeed, he thought. She only used his title now when she was furious. 

"No, Miss Granger, frankly, you don't. That's why I asked." That was apparently too much for her, as she ran crying from the rooms. And that when he hadn't even come close to his usual classroom sneer. 

-^-^-

On Christmas Eve, the atmosphere was one of little more than politeness. He hadn't seen the girl since she had fled the room and had sent the house elf to inquire after her plans for Christmas Eve. The elf had come back with a report of 'Miss crying her eyes out over the cruel remarks he had mades.' He had merely added that to her strained nerves, but sent a quite formal invitation for Christmas Dinner nevertheless. The house elf had insisted on using the formal dining room, which Dumbledore had decorated as well. He hadn't put live fairies into the Christmas tree, though; probably assuming they wouldn't be appreciated. The icicles did a nice job as well, Severus thought; and they were much more representative for the atmosphere. 

Dinner was excellent, as everything the house elf – Lizzy – made. She had even added a matching bottle of wine. Though it didn't improve the atmosphere, it at least gave them something to do. Unsurprisingly, the first bottle was soon empty; and rising to the girls' cheeks. After dessert, a rather delicious strawberry-lemon trifle tart, they were ushered into the drawing room for coffee. He was strongly reminded of formal dinners at Malfoy Manor, where after dinner men would go to the library, to join the ladies in the drawing room only for coffee. 

He looked around curiously; after Dumbledore's Guided Tour, he hadn't been in here. The room had some large windows, looking eastward. On closer look, it appeared to be right under his chambers. The furniture was elegant, but functional. There were some comfortable chairs, a round table for various purposes, and a small square table, at which appeared to be a chess set. 

"Miss Granger, would you care for a game of chess?" he asked, before he knew what he said. She looked up in as much surprise as he felt. 

"Of course, Professor. Though I have to admit that Ron would be the better player," she answered with a malevolent smile. He decided not to react on that remark. Automatically, he walked towards the black pieces, as she sat down at the white ones. How ironic, he thought, black against white, guilt against innocence, him against her. 

The opening moves went fairly fast. She had obviously played more often than him, lately. He studied the game intently, resolved not to make any stupid mistakes. Thus, he didn't notice she was studying his face, instead of the pieces. 

The rattling of cups on saucers announced the coffee was ready. The house elf had laden the table with chocolate, sweets, scones, fruit and other food, as if they hadn't just had a copious dinner. The girl was now pouring coffee and handed him a cup. He decided to take a simple scone with it, as that seemed to be the least sweet of the things on the table. They enjoyed their coffee in mutual silence, and as soon as he had drained his cup the girl proposed to continue their game. 

During their third game – he had won both other games, though be it barely – the doorbell rang. Both jumped, as nobody would know of their hiding place. Then, the house elf appeared. 

"Master Dumbledore to see you, sir and miss," it squeaked. He exhaled audibly, furious with himself for overlooking the obvious. Next to him he heard another sigh of relief, noting that the girl had made the same mistake. 

-^-^-

Albus Dumbledore entered, not with his usual flair, but in a more subdued manner. His first concern was the girl. 

"How are you, Hermione?" he asked. She shrugged her shoulders. 

"I'm fine, sir," she answered, but her eyes, suddenly shining with tears, said quite the contrary. She blinked, struggling not to break down in front of her Professor and the Headmaster. Dumbledore friendly patted her on her shoulder. 

"It's not your fault, Hermione," Dumbledore contradicted what the girl must have been thinking. "For Voldemort, it was merely an excuse. You could have done nothing." This was too much for the girl. She now started to sob slightly. 

"It … it was my fault. They were killed because he was looking for me. And they didn't know where I was, or whether I was all right. They… they thought I was at Hogwarts. They hadn't seen me longer than about a day for… more than three years." She was right out crying now, while Dumbledore had put a hand on her shoulder. 

"Good girl, just cry it out now," he said. "You just needed that. Severus is a good man; he just has a hard time showing it. Come, come." Severus grunted in disagreement.

Addressing Severus, the Headmaster added: "Severus, could you pour us another cup of coffee? And add one of those delicious-looking chocolate cakes, would you?" The girl took her cup from him and calmed down a bit. She had now stopped crying and their silence was only interrupted by occasional hiccoughs. When he had finished his coffee, and a considerable amount of the sweets the House elf had prepared, the Headmaster started his usual chatter.

"Well, Severus, what have you been doing lately?" he asked. "Do you miss frightening your students? Or have you taken it all on Miss Granger?" 

"Albus," Severus said in a warning manner, while shaking his head. "I have attended her parents' funeral, even spoken at it, on her behalf. What makes you believe I would want to venture my supposed cruelty on her?"

"Severus, I am not accusing you. I was merely trying to get a conversation going." The Headmaster answered.

"Well, in that case, I have been doing about anything I haven't got the time for due to the teaching. Reading, mostly." He retorted shortly. 

"Don't forget our _research_, Professor," the girl now interjected. 

"Your research? As in, research by the both of you?" The elderly wizard inquired with a spark in his eyes. 

"Yes, 'our' does usually mean more than one person, Albus. We did some research on Animagus potions. Unfortunately, some accident prevented further testing."

"An accident? Would you care to elaborate, Severus?" On seeing the look on his face, he asked the girl. 

"Hermione? What happened?" The girl now tried to back out.

"O, it was nothing serious, Headmaster. At least nothing that couldn't be cured." Unfortunately, Albus Dumbledore was about the last person you should lie to, with Tom Riddle as a close second. 

"Severus and Hermione. Tell me what happened now and don't try to fool me." Dumbledore said, now his eyes without sparkles. Luckily, for Severus, the girl got scared now. Of course, she hadn't seen the headmaster often other than at mealtimes, and then from a distance. Though she had been quite actively involved in working for the Order during the last summer holidays, Dumbledore had always been busy and never spent much time at Grimmauld Place. 

"Well, I was… er…. Turned into a … cat… sort of…. sir." She stammered. The wizard nodded now. "Only it wasn't… I wasn't… really… a proper cat. It… I …had no fur." 

Dumbledore looked at Severus accusingly. The second only nodded, as there was nothing else to do. 

"Severus?" Dumbledore asked inquiringly, "Why would you want to invent an Animagus Potion?" Severus started pacing to and fro in front of the seats the others occupied

"What else could I do? You bereft me of my job, which, if nothing else, is a useful way to spend my time. You all but locked me up in here, together with the Gryffindor know-it-all, who might be the only student currently at Hogwarts worth teaching, except that there is nothing left to teach her." He saw his student blush at that, so she knew this was a compliment. Luckily, the twinkle was back in the old fool's eyes now, meaning he was safe. He continued pacing: four steps, turn, four steps back

"I want to _do_ something, Albus. When spying, I was at least useful to our cause. Now I'm merely sitting here, being safe while others are in danger, being empty while others are busy, being... well, to state it as it is, being useless, utterly useless. I'd rather go back to Voldemort and spy." He halted for a moment, giving the other wizard a meaningful glare. 

"Come off it, Severus. You know you would be killed. Instantaneously." He saw the girl looking in his direction incredulously. Then she cut in as well.

"I agree with Professor Snape. If Voldemort thinks me a threat, then let me be one. I read almost the entire Hogwarts library – yes, that is including most of the Restricted Section. I helped Harry get to the Stone in my first year and brewed a Polyjuice Potions in my second. In my third year I took all subjects available and I only dropped Muggle Studies and Divination to be able to get a normal schedule. I was the only one to work out Professor Lupin was a werewolf – thanks to you, by the way, Professor. Voldemort killed my parents; not only do I want to see him killed, I want to bring about his downfall. His _final_ downfall." Now she had left her chair and taken to pacing the room like he had done. Four steps, turn, four steps in opposite direction. He wondered if she realised she was copying her Potions Master. Albus certainly had noticed, for he looked in his direction and winked. 

"Albus, do be serious about this. What is the situation like?" Severus asked in a pressing manner. 

"Well, I would say most things are going as planned. We are waiting for Voldemort to make his next move. We do not have any inside information; now you have been discovered, our most useful source of that has been blocked. I won't pretend to know what he is up to. Meanwhile, the Wizarding community is holding its breath." Suddenly the ancient wizard looked tired.

"And Harry? How is he doing?" the girl asked. 

"Harry Potter is doing very well indeed. He has dropped Divination – a very wise decision, in my opinion – and takes lessons in the Dark Arts instead." The girl gasped. "Yes, the Dark Arts themselves, not merely Defence. It is the only way for him to be able to kill Voldemort. And he is the only one who can do it. We can assist him, of course, but he will have to do the actually killing – if there is enough life left to speak of killing." 

"There is," was all Severus said. The girl looked at him, not understanding. 

"There is enough human left in him to die. When he regained a body, he didn't return to his full strength – the strength he had before his downfall. I felt the change; his curses were less strong during the past few years." He had taken to pacing again and spoke in his teaching voice. "The ritual that gave him his current... form, made him once again susceptible to that what he fears most: death." 

"But how?" the girl asked. "I mean, just casting 'Avada Kedavra' won't do it, right? Apart from the question whether Harry can summon enough strength to kill, there is the problem with the wand cores. Harry can't use his wand against Voldemort any more than Voldemort can use his wand against Harry." Severus nodded; he had heard the story about what had happened on the graveyard. 

"Exactly," Dumbledore said, smiling under his beard. "That would be where the two of you come in. I want you to make a poison that is capable of killing Voldemort, if thrown by Harry. Can I trust you with this... assignment without the danger of your poisoning each other?" They both nodded. "Very well, then. I will return to Hogwarts now. I'll send Fawkes around for information." 

"Please give my regards to my friends, Headmaster," the girl said by means of goodbye. 

"Good night, Albus," was all Severus added, before the ancient wizard Disapparated. 

-^-^-

They didn't finish their game of chess, but both went to bed soon after Dumbledore had left. They both wanted to start making the poison as soon as possible, as if that somehow would shorten their stay together. However, for the first days after Dumbledore had given them their task, they had to content themselves with theoretical research rather than practical. They searched for substances that easily passed the barrier formed by the skin, because the poison had to work externally. Finally, they agreed on using lethifold venom, which dissolved the human skin entirely. Once the barrier had been broken, more lethal substances would do the final damage. The result would not induce a 'clean' death, but probably provoke a fair amount of nightmares to lookers-on. 

Acquiring lethifold venom, however, was an entirely different matter. Being classified as Class A Non-Tradable Goods, even the smallest part of a lethifold was hard to come by. To get enough venom to work with, they had to lay hands on an entire lethifold. 

They postponed dealing with that problem and started working on the 'inner poison' as they had termed it. The girl seemed determined to cause the Dark Wizard as much pain as possible and suggested several very painful, but slow-acting substances. He could agree with her sentiments, but wanted the potion to work visibly, thus enabling them to ascertain Voldemorts death. Besides, they had to make sure the different agents wouldn't counteract each other. For instance, an agent to quicken the heart rate, causing the heart to beat itself to death, couldn't be given together with a substance that slowed the heart, thus cutting of the oxygen supply to vital organs. The substances would neutralize each other, not causing any damage.  

The lethifold venom led to yet another problem. Being very aggressive, the venom would cause any other organic substance – like most poisons – to disintegrate, leaving it useless. It was impossible to keep any other agent intact for longer than a few minutes when dissolved in lethifold venom. As diluting the venom was not an option, for it would reduce the activity, they had to make two separate potions, to be joined just before throwing it. The 'inner poison' had to be, if possible, immiscible with the 'outer poison', as that reduced the chance of disintegration dramatically. 

Despite their thorough analysis of the problem, they wouldn't get any further without the lethifold. On New Year's Eve, Lizzy had prepared several delicious treats, meant to last the entire evening. Fawkes came and dropped off a bottle of champagne, accompanied by a note from Dumbledore. They returned another note, outlining the problem and the possible solutions. After that they kept discussing the solutions, trying to make out which one had the best chances to work.

When the girl tried to stifle yet another yawn – and failed miserably – Severus noticed it was only a few minutes short of midnight. Seemingly, the house elf had noticed as well, for she came in with the bottle of champagne and two glasses. Severus uncorked the bottle and poured two, rather large, glasses of champagne. 

"Happy New Year, Professor," she said at the stroke of twelve, now using his title in a friendly manner again. 

"The same to you, Miss Granger," he answered. 

"Hermione," she said softly, more speaking to the floor than to him, "please call me Hermione. I won't mind calling you 'professor' but 'Miss Granger' is so impersonal. It drives me crazy." 

"Severus," he said equally soft. The girl now looked up at him in surprise, and then raised her glass. 

"To the downfall of Voldemort," she said, looking him straight in the eyes. He nodded and clinked his glass to hers. 

"To the downfall of Voldemort." She came nearer, but seemed to hesitate. Then, summoning an amount of courage unheard of even for Gryffindor, she kissed him on his lips, and then swiftly got out of the room. 


	7. The Golden Cage

Chapter 7 – The Golden Cage

Additional Disclaimer: I mention here something about the composition of a poison. I state hereby that I am _not_ responsible for anybody making it. I would like to give credit where credit is due, but I fear a link here, if it were permitted, could bring people to wrong ideas. 

-^-^-

Severus didn't move at all for several minutes. Not only had they agreed to use each other's given names – though somehow Severus doubted that would come to feel natural to him very soon – no, the girl had even kissed him. Though it had been only a short touching of their lips, it was by far the most romantic experience he had had in years. He sipped a little of his champagne. As he had expected, the bottle coming from Albus, it was a very good one. But the girl hadn't had enough of it to be drunk. That could only mean... No, he thought, it was impossible she could have taken a liking to him. He was her Dark Professor, the man she had accused of willing her death not two months ago! She couldn't; it just wasn't possible. He quickly drained his glass and poured himself another one. Some things he just couldn't process without alcohol; being kissed by a student – a Gryffindor at that – quickly became one of those things. 

Probably, he thought, after yet another glass of Albus' marvellous champagne, the girl had just thanked him – or pitied him. Yes, that would be it. She pitied him. Well, he wouldn't let himself be pitied. Draining the last of the champagne, he took to the other so-called solution to his problems: work. During the remainders of the night he read through most of the Herbology section of the extensive library of Aberforth Dumbledore. Not that there was much they hadn't covered already, but he told himself he had to check it all over again 'in case the Mudblood had missed something'. Another voice, more in the back of his head, told him it wasn't fair to call her that, just because he could not accept she had dared to kiss him. And it wasn't fair either to suppose he would find now what she supposedly had missed earlier. 

Severus only became aware of the time when light started coming through the windows. The house-elf now entered the library. 

"Master, has you been working all during the night? Would you likes some breakfast, sir?" 

"Just coffee, please," he answered shortly. The elf should know that by now, he thought. He went to the breakfast parlour, only to find the girl there as well. A quick glance in the mirror told him he deserved the awkward look he got. His appearance was even below his standard at Hogwarts, so it didn't even come close to the standards she had come to expect here. Having nothing to say that wouldn't sound weird, he resorted to silence. The girl, however, did not.

"Have you been working all night, professor?" she asked, seemingly forgetting their agreement on using given names instead of titles. He merely nodded, then added,

"Yes, Miss – Hermione, I have." He did correct himself, but cursed inwardly for needing to correct in the first place. She looked guilty. 

"You should have said you would, so I could have joined you," she said accusingly. Yes, dear girl, I should have - he thought - were it not that the point was avoiding you, be it in presence or thoughts. She seemed to sense his reserve and remained silent for a while. Not for long, however. 

"Severus?" she dared. When he didn't look as if he would curse her for using his given name, she added, "Is there something bothering you?" He hesitated, wondering if he could get it out with. 

"You mean, apart from the obvious absence of lethifolds and the still being locked up in a golden cage?" He paused and she nodded. When he didn't continue, she did. 

"Is this about my kissing you last night?" Of course, she had to be the Gryffindor know-it-all, now even in psychology. He didn't react. 

"Right, then I will retain some distance from now on," she said in a voice he could only interpret as rejected. They were silent again for a while. When he rose to leave, she asked lightly,

"By the way, did you discover anything useful tonight?" With that, they lapsed into the umpteenth discussion about the composition of the inner poison. 

The following day, Fawkes delivered a strange box with several warnings written on it. _Lethal contents._ C_lass A non-tradable goods._ _Warning!_ It was magically sealed as well, set on Severus' fingerprint. 

As expected, the box contained a – dead – lethifold. It looked like a black cloak, about half an inch thick, and felt oily to the touch. They decided to isolate the venom straight away and headed for the dungeons. 

"Wear gloves," Severus ordered the girl. She did as she was told without questioning. When they had put the lethifold tissue safely into a closed cauldron, together with some organic solvents and acids and had lit a nice fire to let it simmer on, they continued their discussion. 

"As the outer poison will be of hydrophobic nature, we'll to make the inner poison hydrophilic. That way, it will also mix more readily with body fluids," he stated. She could only nod in agreement. 

"Well, I think we should settle on on _how_ exactly we want Voldemort to die, and then decide which substances would give that particular effect," she supposed, then added, "I for one would want him to suffer." 

"Right. I can understand that, as many people do, I am sure. What do you think as proper punishment for him?" Severus answered. 

"Probably vomiting out his complete intestines?" she asked. Severus tried to imagine Voldemort writhing on the ground with agony, as if put under Cruciatus. 

"Yes, I think that would come closest to the Cruciatus Curse. That would rule out Digitalis and the likes of it." He said.

"I was thinking about curare and belladonna," she admitted. He chuckled, which earned him an inquiring look.

"Are you alright, Prof – Severus?" she asked. 

"Yes, Hermione. I was merely laughing at the irony. To use curare and belladonna to kill someone. You know they would translate into 'healing' and 'beautiful woman', don't you?" She nodded in assent. "But I think they would do a good job, though."

Eventually, the venom should be ready. They put on their gloves again and lifted the lid. The girl took a ladle and started stirring and sampling. One strand of hair fell from behind her ear, dangling dangerously over the cauldron. Without thinking, Severus took of his right glove and put the hair back behind her ear. She, however, took the gesture wrongly and flinched, dropping the ladle in the process. Some of the venom splashed on their robes and on his bare hand. He had fortunately learned long ago not to panic at this sort of occasions. 

"Remove your robes," he ordered, as he was doing the same. She hesitated. "Now! There is no time for being prudent here." He added. He had difficulties undoing the buttons of his robes, with one hand still gloved and the other injured. She had no problems shedding her robes quickly. When she saw him waver, she came to help him without hesitation. Quickly, she undid his outer robes, in which there seemed to be holes already. Then shed her gloves and examined his hand. 

"This looks serious," she said, adding a hardly audible apology. Indeed, some of his skin had dissolved rapidly, now showing the raw flesh underneath. "I'd say we should clean the wound and then bandage it. Unless you are good at Healing Spells?" 

"No, Miss – Hermione, Healing Spells are not exactly my area of expertise. I could make a Wound Paste to quicken the healing, though." She had in the meanwhile taken out her handkerchief – a clean one, luckily – and cleaned the wounds. She was now waving her wand, which emitted a nice clean bandage that wrapped neatly around his hand until it was completely immobile. 

"At least we are certain it will work now." He said tetchily. She ignored that comment. 

"Well, how do I make this Wound Paste?" she asked bluntly. 

"Last time I looked, I was the Potions Master of the current assembly," he retorted irritated.  

"It looks like you won't be making this Wound Paste anytime soon, Professor," she hesitated and then corrected, "Severus." A pause. "I would of course be happy to make it, even if under supervision." He shrugged. He had not much of a choice, considering the fact his right hand was wrapped in what seemed an inch of bandages. He would not be able to hold a dinner fork, let alone cut potions ingredients in even pieces. 

"Alright," he said, "you can find the recipe on page 329 of 'Medical Potions for All Purposes'. It should not be too difficult, it only needs exactly the right timing at all times." 

-^-^-

He had to admit she had prepared the Wound Paste very well. He had to apply it every hour, but now after only two doses the wounds were already half healed. Good, he thought, maybe at dinnertime he would be able to use his hands again. He hadn't exactly looked forward to asking the elf to cut his dinner into small pieces, so he could eat it one-handed. Or, for that matter, to let the girl see him eating with only his left hand, the right tightly wrapped in her conjured bandages. 

Why, _why_ had he wanted to tuck her hair back? It had been an impulse, nothing else. And _why_ was he disappointed for the fact she had cringed away? He could have expected that, couldn't he? He had expected that, hadn't he? _Hadn't he_? 

"Right, Severus Snape," he muttered to himself, "Admit it. You'd expected she wouldn't cringe away from your touch. Not after yesterday. Not after her kiss." And now his train of thoughts was back at the departing station. Sighing, he applied another dose of the cooling Wound Paste. 

-^-^-

During dessert he decided to get it over and done with. 

"I apologize for what... happened this morning, Miss Granger," he ventured. She looked at him quizzically in return. 

"Why should you apologize, professor?" Not the cynical tone, however. Now it was his turn to look puzzled. "I believe it is me who should apologize, professor. I shouldn't have... dropped the ladle. I am sorry." 

"Miss Granger, believe me. I am perfectly aware of my own repulsiveness and I think every girl would indeed have cringed away. I should not have touched you. I am sorry." She actually managed to look guilty. 

"Furthermore, I want to thank you for making the Wound Paste. I tried, but I couldn't have made it better." She now blushed a very Gryffindor scarlet. 

"Thank you, professor," she stammered. She stood up and left the room hastily, her pudding nearly untouched. Before closing the door she turned. 

"I don't think you repulsive, Severus. I meant it yesterday." 

And so, for the second night in a row, she left him speechless.

-^-^-

Author's Note: So here I injured Severus. Don't attack! (ducks rotten tomatoes) Thank you for the reviews!


	8. Dreams and Reality

Author's Note: Somehow I doubt you'll like the end of this chapter...

Chapter 8 - Dreams and Reality

He stepped forward and spread his wings. It felt great, the wind blowing through the feathers, the sun warming them. He saw the people around him, looking in wonder, but he did not care. He started running, running, running. The people ran as well, frightened by his eighteen feet of wings. He moved his wings up and down, up and down, up and down… and took off. For years, he had not dared even to spread his wings, let alone fly, but finally he once again felt the wind through his hair, his feathers, his clothes. It is great to fly. If humans could fly, he thought, and he didn't mean flying with airplanes and stuff, no, if humans could really fly like angels, there wouldn't be any war, any fighting. Just the feeling of the wind, all around you, the floating in the air. It is just you, you, you and the elements. 

Then, suddenly, he was surrounded. In mid-air, he was surrounded by angels, appearing out of thin air. They grabbed him, he tried to fight them, he had to fight them. He knew what they wanted, they wanted his joy, his glory… his wings. Too many had seen him, had had to run for his rage. And now he had to pay the price. The price: one set of wings. Not bird-wings, not plane-wings, but angel-wings. They grabbed him, they grabbed his wings. He was held, still floating in mid-air, supported by tens, hundreds, thousands of angels. The sky turned dark as angelic law was obeyed. They started to pull out his feathers, one by one, every single feather. And as a feather was pulled out, he felt a pang, like a stab with the sharpest knife. Thousands of feathers, thousands of agonizing pangs, stabs, worse even than _crucio_. It seemed to last hours, day's maybe. Then they stopped, they ran out of feathers. But as they stopped pulling out feathers, the pangs remained. He wrinkled, wrinkled to get free, but they still got hold of him. They got hold of him, of the remainders of his wings, pathetic pieces of flesh and bone, useless without the feathers. They grabbed the remainders and let go of his arms and legs. Then they pulled, pulled, pulled. He felt agony, felt them tear the pathetic remainders of his wings right off his body. He was in agony, he felt the wings tear away and fell. He fell, right down to Earth, down, down, down, down… 

"Working all night again, professor?"

He woke up with a sleeping arm and a stiff neck. He had tried to work through the night again, trying to forget what the girl had said. In the end, he had fallen asleep in one of the library chairs. When he had awoken completely – the dream had left him a little confused – he saw the girl sit in the other chair, eyeing him absorbedly. He decided to just stare back. 

"No, Hermione, as you can see I finally fell asleep." He moved the tome that had cut off the blood flow to his left hand. 

"Did you find anything of interest?" she asked. 

"Nothing we didn't already find out. We will have to use the knowledge we have," he admitted. 

"If we make the Inner Poison today, the complete poison is ready. The sooner the better I think. Can you use your hand again?" the girl asked. Severus was slightly irritated by this, but it occurred to him it could be mere interest, coming from her. 

"I think I can." He flexed his fingers, which caused the new pink-coloured skin to stretch irritably.

After a necessary cup of coffee, accompanied by an anti-muscle ache potion, they went down to the laboratory. He noticed she had cleared away the cauldron with lethifold venom and cleaned the floor and table as well, where now only small holes were silent proof of the accident. He saw a row of small vials filled with the near-black oily fluid that was the venom. 

"Well done, Hermione," he thought silently, while preparing a cauldron for the inner poison. They worked together wordlessly, she cutting ingredients, he stirring the contents of the cauldron with his uninjured hand. 

-^-^-

With his usual mind-reading ability, Albus Dumbledore seemed to have known the poison was ready. Instead of sending Fawkes, he visited himself in the evening. 

"The poison is ready, isn't it?" he asked first thing when he came in. Severus looked at Hermione inquiringly, only to find she wore a similar expression. She shook her head, meaning she hadn't contacted the Headmaster in any way. 

"It is, Albus," Severus acknowledged. He summoned one vial of it and explained what they had done, neither exaggerating nor underestimating the girls work. Albus looked at her admiringly, but his expression changed with Severus' next question. 

"Have you got any idea as to when..." he did not finish his sentence as Albus was shaking his head, looking weary. 

"Then you have no information at all?" questioned Hermione. Again the aged wizard shook his head. She didn't speak, but seemed to ponder what to say next. Severus spoke first. 

"Albus, I want to fight," he said softly. The girl nodded in approval. The Headmaster looked him straight in the eyes. "Nobody will believe my true allegiances if I do not." 

The bright blue eyes shone brightly, but whether with tears or approval Severus couldn't say. 

"They will kill you on first sight," Albus said. 

"As they would with either of you, with Potter, the entire Weasley family, Minerva..." Severus summed up. 

"In short, as they would with anyone who openly acknowledges and opposes them, isn't it, Sev – Professor?" the girl asked, correcting herself quickly to keep up decorum. The Headmaster seemed to have noticed her slip nevertheless, for he was now positively beaming. He didn't choose to comment on it, though. Severus nodded. 

"I want to fight too," she said. "I want to be the threat he thinks me. I want to see him suffer by our hands, like so many suffered by his." When Dumbledore looked disapprovingly, she added, "I bet I'd fight as well as every seventh year student. Harry will fight; he has to. Ron would never let him go alone. _I_ won't let him go alone." Again the ancient wizard looked weary. 

"I see the two of you are quite determined," Albus said with a feeling for understatement. 

"That leaves me with two options: prohibiting or relenting." Severus opened his mouth to protest. The Headmaster raised his hand and continued. 

"It would be only too easy for me to promise to summon you and 'forget' it in the commotion. I won't do that. Severus, you know Voldemort best, how much you may repent it. Would he come to kill you, if it were to leak out where you are?" Severus nodded without further explanation. 

"I expected as much," the old man confirmed. "Then, if you insist on fighting, we will use both of you as a bait. If we drop a hint in front of a probable Death Eater, the news will travel soon enough. It is time we take our fate in our own hands," he concluded while rising. "I will let you know the details." The old man bowed and Disapparated. 

"Finally," he heard the girl sigh. "We get to fight!"

-^-^-

Next morning, he was first to enter the breakfast parlour for his usual mug of coffee. When the girl joined him, he could see in her whole appearance she had something to ask. 

"What is it, Hermione?" he asked her, forcing her to get it over and done with. 

"Professor, I wanted to ask you a favour," she started, using his title again instead of his given name. "If we are to fight..." she began a sentence, but corrected herself. 

"Could you give me some duelling practice?" she blurted out. When he didn't react instantaneously, she continued, "You know, the duelling club in my second year didn't prove exactly useful." No, he thought, the only thing Lockhart learned you is how to drop your wand. 

"And as we will probably be fighting Death Eaters... I mean as opposed to Voldemort himself..." she trailed off now, apparently not knowing what to say next. 

"Right, Hermione. I will teach you how to duel properly. Everything is allowed, except Unforgivables. Shall we use the garden to practise in?" 

-^-^-

The garden was quite large, featuring several large terraces and surrounded by a large hedge. They chose the largest terrace and moved the furniture, then moved until they stood facing each other. They bowed and Severus counted silently to three. Then he pointed his wand and cast _Serpensortia_, while she screamed, "Protego!" He took the opportunity to conjure some more snakes, while she kept up her shield. Eventually, she got distracted and scared, which made her cast _Expelliarmus_ to him. Years of practise had given him quick reflexes, and with a Shield Charm of his own he reflected her Disarming Spell. Her wand flew high through the air and he caught it neatly. He made the snakes disappear before he walked over to her and handed her wand back. 

"There you are," he said, using his teaching voice automatically. "You made one major mistake. Have you got any idea?" She nodded, but he answered his own question immediately. 

"You used a Shield Charm unnecessarily. That drains your powers and doesn't work against snakes." He saw her stifle a grin but didn't comment. He could guess what she had been thinking. 

"Shall we try again?" he asked while walking to his previous position. They bowed again and counted to three. 

This time he started with _Expelliarmus_. She, however, cast _Tarantallegra_ and hit. Wordlessly cursing, he muttered the countercharm and managed to get his legs under control again. When he looked up, she appeared to have conjured a few snakes of her own. He cast, the only logical option, Vipera Evanesca a few times in quick succession. Then he cast _Impedimenta_ on her. A harsh measure, but not nearly as harsh as the Full Body-bind. He saw from her face she knew the countercurse, but couldn't move fast enough to cast it. He cast another _Expelliarmus_ and deftly caught her wand, then muttered the countercurse himself. 

-^-^-

After a day of intense duelling, they had a much more enjoyable dinner than usual. He was tired, he admitted, and that made him lower his guard. This way, she got more answers out of him than he otherwise would have given. She asked about Potions she had read about, and he answered, again surprised because of her knowledge. Then she took him by surprise.

"Why are you always so unpleasant in class?" He flinched, not too visibly he hoped. 

"I beg your pardon?" He asked, more to gain time than anything else. 

"I should have thought you'd understand so simple a question," she retorted. 

"Did you think I try to stuff the otherwise empty heads of a bunch of teenagers with knowledge because I like it? Or because of my good heart? Or for the sake of the new generation?" He asked. "Rest assured. I loathe teaching, and I am only doing it to do Albus a favour." To his surprise, she nodded. She must have seen his look, for she answered.

"I can understand." The look didn't change. She continued, "You know, I try to get Harry and Ron to study, and Neville keeps asking me questions. Sometimes I'd rather just snap at them to shut up and do it themselves for a change." 

"Are you confessing you help those... friends of yours? Then I won't try to imagine their marks without your help. It would probably be in negative numbers." She laughed. 

"No, I do not actually help them. But you know how I am. If I'm asked a question, I can't _not_ answer it. Most of the time I just give them a reference, though." Now it was his turn to laugh. She shot him an enquiring look, just as she had done when he chuckled. Then she joined in, and her higher laugh mingled pleasantly with his. 

"Yes, I think I know how you are by now. Do you remember your first Potions lesson?" She nodded. "Of course, I didn't really expect Mr. Potter, or anyone, to be able to answer the questions. But you almost reached the ceiling, so high you raised your hand at the possibility of answering questions." She nodded again and smiled, but looked down almost immediately. 

"How about that time when you took over Professor Lupins class? Did you mean it back then?" She sounded curious, but anxious as well. 

"You mean the 'insufferable know-it-all' I called you. Yes, I meant it... back then. You were about to reveal Professor Lupin being a werewolf to your classmates. I had wanted them to find out themselves, but they're almost as stupid as a Muggle facing a flying broomstick. It could laugh them in the face without them noticing." She laughed. 

"Nobody would have expected Professor Lupin to be a werewolf. And that while they expect you to be a vampire." 

"How are you so sure I am not?" He asked. She shot upright and raised her left hand, indicating her index finger with her right. 

"For one, you are..." He motioned her to stop.

"I didn't ask for an answer. I know I am not a vampire, unlike 'public opinion'. That essay of Lupin's didn't exactly contradict said public opinion, though." She giggled. He spoke sternly.

"You just gave a perfect example of _why_ you can be such an annoying student sometimes." Her giggle died away. He laughed softly. 

"You know, Severus?" When he didn't answer, she continued. "You should really laugh more. It makes you years younger."

-^-^-

Two weeks of duelling – when the weather allowed it, otherwise they would be in the library or the laboratory - did a lot of good for her duelling techniques, Severus thought one morning during breakfast, though he wouldn't say that. Yet. 

She had actually succeeded in Stunning him one or two times. They had agreed that Stunning would be the equivalent of the Killing Curse, and she had already lost more lives than most cats possess. 

Another thing the duelling had done was radically alter their... well, relationship would be the only word for it. Of course, a sense of mutual trust was necessary when practising duelling techniques, especially as someone Stunned had to be Ennervated as well. 

"Professor?" she asked. 

"Call me Severus," he answered, slightly wondering what she would call him Professor for. Expecting some enquiry about a hex or something, he took a sip of his coffee.

"Cast Crucio on me." He had expected a declaration of ardent love more than this. He choked on his coffee, which caused him nearly to cough out his intestines. When he thought he could talk again without spitting out his coffee, he answered her. 

"No." She looked downcast.

"But I need to know!" He shook his head. "Severus, I. Need. To. Know. When we're fighting Death Eaters, they won't be careful with me, won't they?" He just continued shaking his head. 

"They won't be careful, no. If they don't kill you... us straight away, we will certainly get our share. But I will not cast the curse on you. It has no use, there is no way of fighting it. You can only endure." He must accidentally have let some of his feelings show on his face. He had to put his guards back up, and soon too. 

"Are you... you have been put under the Curse many times, haven't you?" He nodded, again, now without trying to hide his feelings. She came over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. 

"I'm sorry, Severus, I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry..." He tried to regain his composure. Indeed, he could never have cast _Crucio_ on the girl. It had been a long time since he had cast the curse without a feeling of great reluctance. At the time, he had had to hold on for the sake of his cover. And with her, it was even different. He had now seen the mind behind the essays, the talent behind the marks. He had seen certain... similarities between the two of them. 

And she had kissed him. 

-^-^-

They were sitting in the library, another evening after dinner. She was reading a book called Creative Curses, absentmindedly muttering incantations aloud and practising appropriate wrist movements, while he was reading up on one of the latest issues of Potions and Poisons. Suddenly Lizzy stormed in, clearly panicking and out of breath. 

"Master! Miss! Come! Strange man... Dining room..." the elf panted. Severus shot Hermione a look and saw her looking back at him determinedly. They took their wands from their sleeves and hurried to the dining room as fast as they could. On entering, Hermione almost dropped her wand.

"Ron?" she gasped. "What? Where...?" Her questions were smothered when the redhead embraced her, thereby pulling her face so close to his chest that Severus wondered how she would be able to breathe. 

Apparently, she wasn't, for after a few seconds she pushed him away rather awkwardly. That was the moment the Headmaster chose to appear. Pretending not to notice, she repeated her questions.

"Ron, what are you doing here? Where is Harry?" Weasley looked miserable at that, but was silent. The Headmaster took over. 

"Sit down, Severus, Hermione, Ronald." He looked gravely at each of them in turn. They sat around the dining table, the boy next to Hermione, Severus and Albus on the other side of the table. Dumbledore ordered tea from Lizzy, but still hadn't said anything about the matter. Severus felt a sense of foreboding and the girl looked equally worried. It didn't surprise him, then, when the ancient wizard spoke.

"The Boy Who Lived, lives no longer."


	9. The Boy Who Lived

Chapter 9 – The Boy Who... Died

"The Boy Who Lived, lives no longer." 

The eyes of the girl grew big. The Weasley boy put an arm around her shoulders, but it didn't seem to give her much comfort. She looked at Severus before she directed her gaze at the Headmaster, who looked now twice his age.

"Harry... dead? But... but how?" She looked on the verge of tears. 

"Voldemort. He attacked Hogsmeade, unforeseen, when our students were there. He must have known. Fortunately, there were some Aurors patrolling the town, as well as most of the teachers. We couldn't keep Harry from rushing right at him. While kept in Voldemorts grip, Harry broke a bottle of your poison on his head and got splashed. I don't think I have to elaborate, have I?" The girl shook her head, eyes shining. 

"_And either must die, at the hand of the other, for neither can live, while the other survives..._" Severus mumbled. "Of course... I hadn't thought of this interpretation." She looked at him shortly, surprised, then stared at Weasley. 

"Did you... have you seen it?" He nodded, while his eyes filled with tears as well. He blinked violently, probably determined not to break down in front of Snape of all people. 

"Was it... how horrible was it?" The boy now couldn't restrain himself, and Hermione made use of the occasion to free herself from his arm and start rummaging through her pockets. Severus was first, though, and produced two handkerchiefs. He threw them on the table, giving Hermione what was supposed to be an apologetic look. She took them and handed one to the Weasley boy, who blew his nose rather inelegantly. 

"And now?" Severus asked. The Headmaster sighed. 

"I suppose Hogwarts is safe now. You can come back, if you want to." The girl shook her head. "Or you could stay here a little longer, of course." Her face lightened up a bit. 

"Yes, I'd like to stay here. At Hogwarts... there would be all memories..." Not to mention some redhead following in your footsteps again, Severus mentally added. She sobbed. Severus somehow longed to put an arm around her. The Weasley kid wouldn't take that too well, probably. He wondered how she would take it...

"Severus?" He looked at Albus now. "Would you like to stay here a little longer? To keep an eye on Miss Granger?" He just nodded. He wanted to ask whether he had a choice, but decided against it. The girl had just lost her best friend; she wouldn't take that remark too well just now. 

"Uhm, Hermione? Can we... er... talk? A minute?" The Weasley boy asked very incohorently. She nodded and they disappeared to the hall, but left the door open. Severus summoned Lizzy.

"I could use something stronger now, how about you Albus?" When they were supplied with two glasses and a bottle of Ogden's, Severus poured them both a royal double whisk?y. 

"Why, Albus, why?" he sighed. The white-haired wizard shook his head. 

"I don't know, Severus." 

"It would have been easier if Potter had just won. We could have celebrated and have a happily ever after, with everything as it was supposed to be." 

"I know, Severus." 

"What is going to happen now? I mean, did you take care of a Parting yet?" 

"We burned the remains of Voldemort as soon as the Minister had seen it. Harry... his body has been taken to the Hospital Wing and... put under a Freezing Charm." 

A tear slid down a wrinkled cheek. Severus shut the door with his wand, then put a hand on the other wizard's shoulder. 

"I'm sorry, Albus. I'm sorry. I know you loved the boy. You couldn't have done anything." 

"I feel like I failed the boy, Severus. What a reward for him. First, he killed the Dark Lord. Or actually Lily did that, by way of her son. Then I had to put him up with her sister. And every year, every single year at Hogwarts something would happen to him. He was never just a boy. He was The Boy Who Lived. And now, when he finally could have had a chance of leading a normal life, he is dead. I failed the boy, Severus." 

"No, Albus, you didn't. You couldn't have done anything to save him now. He knew he had to kill Voldemort. He knew what this poison would do. You couldn't have done anything, Albus." Their discussion got interrupted here. 

"...saying that you prefer the company of the greasy git over mine? I have lost Harry too, you know? I slept in the same dorm for nearly seven years, spent nearly all my time with him and you!" The answer wasn't audible, as Hermione clearly managed to keep her voice down. 

"Not too complimenting, is he?" Albus chuckled. Severus shrugged his shoulders. He already knew the greater part of his students, and maybe even colleagues, shared this opinion. He was glad Albus was back to his old self again. 

"You will finally get your Order of Merlin now, Severus." The old wizard said merrily. "There are so many people who know what you have done, that even Cornelius Fudge won't object to it. And, besides, awarding Orders posthumously isn't nearly as satisfying. Oh, and we caught Pettigrew, so he will have to make formal apologies to the memory of Sirius as well." 

"Fudge is certainly not going to like this, Albus. You know he hates to admit he's wrong. Not that I do not understand that, but that's beside the point. He'll probably throw a tantrum and say Black will never know." Albus nodded. 

"He probably will. But you will get that Order, if it's the last thing I do." 

"I don't care, Albus. I don't want an Order of Merlin. I'd rather have a nice job somewhere, do some research."

"I know you don't care. But you will need it to get free of the prejudice against you. Unless you'd decide on wearing pink from now on..." 

"Albus..." Severus said warningly. At that moment, the Weasley boy stormed in again, with Hermione behind him. 

"I know when I'm not wanted, Hermione. When you prefer the presence of the greasy git over mine, I'll know how to take it. I'll leave. As. Soon. As. Possible," he blurted out. Severus decided to let the remark pass again. The fun of seeing the boy stammer didn't appeal to him right now. Albus rose. 

"I believe somebody wants to return to Hogwarts now." The boy had the grace of turning scarlet. "I'll have to take care of some other things. I'll see the two of you in a few days." 

The girl took her former seat at the dining table, took the bottle of Ogden's and poured some in her teacup. She swirled it around and downed it in one gulp. Then she put her head in her hands, elbows resting on the table. Severus was still sitting opposite her and now she happened to look right into his face. 

"What?" was all she said. 

"Miss Granger," he answered. "You could at least have summoned a glass." 

"I'm sorry. I just needed that." 

"I understand, believe me. There have been nights I needed a whole bottle of that. I'm sorry about Harry Potter." 

"I know you are. At least Voldemort's gone." 

"Yes, Voldemort's gone. Finally." He agreed.

"Why don't we feel happy, then? Why aren't we celebrating?"

"It feels too unreal. An anti-climax, so to speak. Had we had a great battle with many deaths, it would have been easier." He said. 

"I guess you're right. At least you know how Ron thinks about you now," she changed topic. 

"Believe me, I had already some idea as to his opinion. Tell me, is he a supporter of the vampire theory or does he vote the filthy Death Eater?" Severus inquired. 

"He used to belong to the latter category, until the complexness of your role turned out. Then... well, you heard his opinion. Oh, and he still insists you are not to be trusted. I'm sorry, I tried..."

Severus decided it was time to change topic again, before this would get too personal... for the wrong person. So he yawned and rose. 

"I think it is time to go to bed," he stated. She nodded and rose as well, then slipped through the door he held open for her. 

When he reached his rooms, his mind was already engaged in an emotional merry-go-round, including annoying music. So Voldemort is gone now, he thought. It felt strange, because he felt nothing. No happiness, no relief. No anger at death having taken Harry Potter as well. He slid up his left sleeve. The Dark Mark, which had been there for nearly twenty-one years, had gone, and he hadn't even noticed. Pity, he thought. This is going to make catching remaining Death Eaters a tedious job. Of course he could name a few, the most known Death Eaters, and he would go out of his way to get Lucius Malfoy back to Azkaban, but he hadn't known the younger Death Eaters, the new recruits. He could move on with his life now, no longer stuck at Hogwarts, but free to take a nice job somewhere, where his talents were appreciated. He could finally give credit where credit was due, not where the parents were to be pleased. Credit to Hermione, for instance, and scowls for Malfoy jr. _You don't want to give only _credit_ to Hermione, do you?_ A treacherous inner voice asked. 

"Oh, no? What else would I want to give her?" he mumbled. He wondered why exactly he had consented to stay here. It was not as the girl wouldn't be able to go back to Hogwarts, or even stay here with Lizzy. What he was even more amazed at was why she had defended him to Weasley. Why she had given the Weasley boy the idea she had chosen 'the greasy git' as he termed him, over the boy. 

He had to admit it to himself: he could just as well go to the library. Sleeping was not one of the options tonight, as he had no Dreamless Sleep Potion at hand. During his psychological rollercoaster he had already changed to his pyjamas, so he slid on a dressing gown and went to the library. He took out another volume of Muggle literature, _Nostromo_. He relit the fire and dropped in one of the couches. He had barely arrived at the fifth page when the girl came in, also in pyjamas and dressing gown. 

"Hermione! Are you allright?" _I have to babysit, after all._

"Yes, I just couldn't sleep. I tried to find you in your rooms. I wanted to ask for a bit of Dreamless Sleep Potion." She answered. She was also in her nightclothes and dressing gown. 

"I'm sorry, I don't have any. Otherwise, you would have found me in my rooms and you wouldn't have been able to wake me up." 

"I would never try to wake you up, sir." She answered, blushing. _Now why was the girl blushing?_

"No, I don't believe you would." _But I hadn't believed you would kiss me, either._

He closed his book and put it on its shelf again. 

"What a drag. How about a game of chess to take our mind of things?" She looked at him in total astonishment. 

"What is it, Hermione?" he asked when seeing her expression. 

"I... I just never thought I'd hear you call a book a drag. Chess would be delightful." They went to the drawing room, where their previous game stood still untouched. As they couldn't remember who was on move, they set up a new game. 

-^-^-

Two hours later, they were still playing their first game. Severus was also still wondering what she had said to the Weasley boy, but denying to himself that he wondered. This apparent lack of concentration made him miss the position of a knight. 

"Checkmate!" Hermione said triumphantly. Indeed, he couldn't do anything. 

"Congratulations," he said, offering his hand. "Not many succeed in beating me at chess. Another game?" 

"Thank you. But I'd like something to drink first." 

"Your wish is my command," Severus said while he rose and gave a mock bow. "Shall we wake Lizzy or do it ourselves?" 

"Can you make a decent hot chocolate?" she asked. He gave her a glare. "Good, then we don't have to wake Lizzy." She grinned while they went to the kitchen.

"Now, for an original Mexican hot chocolate, you put forty grams of unsweetened chocolate and the same amount of sugar in a saucepan," he said, while summoning one. 

"Add half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, a dash of salt and about one hundred and fifty millilitres of water. Stir constantly until the chocolate has molten and the mixture is smooth." They waited until the chocolate had reached that point. 

"Now heat to boiling, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for exactly four minutes, while stirring constantly." 

"After four minutes, stir in half a litre of milk. Heat through, but not to boiling this time. Remove the mixture from the heat and whisk until foamy." He poured the drink into two mugs and topped it with whipped cream. 

"There you are. Now, is this a decent hot chocolate?" he said finally.

"I'll have to taste first, sir. But it looks like one, that's for certain." 

They left the kitchen, he levitating the two mugs of hot chocolate as they were too hot to handle. They settled each on one end of the sofa near the fire of the drawing room and Severus decided to admit his curiosity. 

"What was it you said to Mr. Weasley tonight?" She thought for a while. Just when he got impatient, she answered. 

"Not too much. He demanded I'd come to Hogwarts with him, I denied. There really are too many memories there. Then he said something not too complimentary about you, and I told him you were really nice, with the funeral of my parents and all. And that was the part where he got shouting. I suppose you heard that?" Severus nodded. 

"What did the Headmaster say?" Now it was Severus' turn to think, while Hermione waited. He cradled his mug, letting it warm his hands. He didn't want to let Albus fall from the girls mental pedestal, but also didn't want him to pass for a supernatural being. 

"He is really shaken by Harry's death. He loved the boy and feels he failed him somehow. He very nearly cried." So much for the pedestal.

"Wow," she said softly. "Wow. Something must be really bad if it makes Professor Dumbledore cry." She was silent for quite some time, drinking her chocolate and thinking. 

"What will happen to Harry's body?" She asked, her voice trembling slightly. 

"There will be a Parting Ceremony, somewhere next week. Of course, he will get all honours, including a posthumous Order of Merlin, first class, and probably the Minister will have a speech, the Headmaster of course and most of the wizarding world will be present. It will be at Hogwarts." 

"And then?" 

"Then everybody will walk along the coffin, and then somebody will light the pyre." She gasped, her eyes gleaming.

"He is to be... burned? Just like that?" she asked in utter amazement. 

"No, not just burned. Parting Ceremonies, together with Bonding Ceremonies and Names-giving Ceremonies, are among the most ancient and important ceremonies in the wizarding world. And this one will be an Honorary Parting, which is about the greatest honour a dead wizard can get. But he will be burned, yes." 

"Then there is no grave, no place where people can come to..." she trailed off and sipped her chocolate. 

"It is just so unfair!" she continued. "First, he hadn't got a life because of his aunt and uncle. Then he came to Hogwarts and always the threat of Voldemort would be there. And now, Voldemort is finally defeated and Harry's..." she sobbed now. Severus decided to try his theory from earlier this evening and put a hand on her shoulder. She continued crying, but didn't shy away. He put his arm around her now. 

"I know it is unfair, Hermione. Life is unfair sometimes." She nodded and leaned into him a little. 

"Have his parents been... burned too?" She turned her head so she looked right into his face. He just nodded. 

"Then he probably would have wanted that as well," she stated. 

Author's Notes: 

1) The hot chocolate recipe is taken from a website called 'cooksrecipes'. If you want a kitchen version of it, just drop me a line.

2) I didn't read Nostromo by Joseph Conrad, nor do I intend to (unless my reviewers recommend it). I came across it in a literature textbook and thought it a title to appeal to Severus. 

3) I took the Parting Ceremony from Abby, the Bonding Ceremony from Saavik13 and the Names-giving Ceremony from Pigwidgeon37. Credit where credit is due, I don't have any fantasy myself I just write things together. 


	10. Parting or Falling Apart

Chapter 10 – Parting or Falling Apart

Unlike the day of the Muggle funeral, the day of the Parting of Harry Potter was bright and sunny. One stand had been set up at the Quidditch Pitch, in addition to the usual stands used at matches. The ceremony was to take place at three o'clock, unlike ordinary Partings that were held at sunset. In this case, that was nearly impossible for the amount of guests that were to come over. The Hogwarts Express had sprouted additional carriages, while most of the wizards and witches would Apparate to Hogsmeade. Every now and then people would arrive and search for their relatives attending Hogwarts. Needless to say that classes were cancelled; in the week after the defeat of Voldemort and the demise of The Boy Who Lived, the wizarding world was turned upside down. Measures were taken to keep the relieved and overenthusiastic wizards from exposing their world to the Muggles: they were strictly told to keep to the Wizarding parts of England; travel by broomstick was prohibited and owl post was limited to the delivery of the Daily Prophet, which was about trice the size it ordinarily would be. 

In Albus' opinion, Severus and Hermione had deserved a seat in the Stand of Honour, as Severus called it in his mind. He had rather had a seat among his colleagues and students, away from the spotlight, but Albus had refused him that. Hermione and the younger Weasleys were the only minors in the stand, which was otherwise occupied by members of the Order of the Phoenix and ministry officials. Among the latter category Severus discovered to his horror the Malfoy family, offspring included. He certainly would have to try and do something about the smug smiles on their faces. Of course, the smiles were for the fact that they were up on the Celebrity Stand as well as the fact that Harry Potter was dead. 

When what looked like every single wizard and witch in Britain had finally found a seat, Albus Dumbledore rose and the public fell silent. A _Sonorus_ charm made sure his voice was amplified to be heard by all. 

"We are gathered here today, to remember a great wizard. He sacrificed his life, fully aware of what he did, to defeat Lord Voldemort. The wizard I speak of is, of course, Harry James Potter. He has been called The Boy Who Lived. In truth, this boy has never actually lived. His parents dead, he has been raised by his Muggle aunt and uncle, for the protection of his life. They treated him badly, but he survived." 

"When he arrived here, at Hogwarts, he discovered a whole new life. Again, this life was taken from him, as every single year something happened that made he could not enjoy life, carelessly like his peers." 

"Ultimately, now, in his final year here at Hogwarts, he was involved in an attack by Voldemort and several Death Eaters during a weekend in Hogsmeade. He had a highly deadly poison with him. When he administered this to Voldemort, he got a dose of his own and suffered a most painful death." 

"Harry, I am sorry. I am sorry I couldn't give you the life you deserved. Farewell, Harry Potter." 

Those in the Celebrity Stand could see the ancient wizard sitting down heavily. Severus, sitting only two seats away, could see a tear falling down along his wrinkled face. Cornelius Fudge was now the one to rise. Severus sighed, as he didn't look forward to this speech. The Minister of Magic had always been one to talk without speaking and this time was no different. 

Severus soon became distracted, immerged in his own thoughts. He looked behind for the girl, who was sitting between Ronald and Ginny Weasley. The boy had again put an arm around her shoulders and she was looking particularly unhappy. She looked in his direction and caught his gaze. He let a flash across his face. She had apparently seen it, for she gave a watery smile back. He wished he was the one putting the arm around her shoulder and immediately gave himself a mental reprimand. He was almost twenty years her senior and she had just lost her parents and her best friend. He could not take advantage of the fact and see her hurt. 

Fudge had now finished the first part of his talk and was awarding 'a posthumous Order of Merlin, First Class, for great services to the Wizarding World as well as the Muggle.' A ministry official placed the medal on the coffin, as there were no relatives. In the meanwhile, Fudge was blabbering about a statue in the central Hall of the Ministry, where the Fountain of Magical Brethren had stood. 

"Another token of false gratitude, as it had been for the Magical Brethren. Good thing Albus blasted it. He even managed to put it to good use." He thought to himself while staring in the general direction of the pyre. Suddenly he received a painful nod in his side from Minerva McGonagall. 

"Rise," she hissed. "Order of Merlin, First Class." Absently rising, he noted people applauding. Fudge came his way now, sporting a flat box he had opened. In it he discerned a great round medal, made of gold with some sort of inscription. There was also a smaller golden item, which Fudge took with his fat fingers. The fingers made their way to the collar of his cloak. Severus had to restrain himself from taking the medal, reluctant as he was to be touched by anyone. And Cornelius Fudge was hardly better than the Dark Lord in his desire for flattery. 

"To Severus Snape, I award an Order of Merlin, First Class, as a token of the gratitude of Wizardkind for his service to the light. I am told that without this man risking his life, we would have been surprised by the actions of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named." Severus felt bile rising in his throat. In the eyes of the Minister he could read the insincerity of the words. He clearly only said this to please Albus. Finally, the man had placed the ornament on his collar. Though Fudge had only touched the collar briefly, Severus felt like he had been strangled. He nodded once to the general public, and then turned around to nod to the Celebrity Stand... and found himself looking straight into Hermione's eyes. They were full of warmth, and something else he couldn't quite place. There was something, something in her eyes that made him smile. 

He sat down again and let Albus take over the Ceremony. According to tradition, four people were to light the pyre. Albus, Cornelius, Hermione and Ronald rose and walked to the pyre, bearing torches burning in different colours. 

On Albus' count of three the torchbearers put their torches into the corners of the pyre, which instantly emitted high and searing white flames. Albus, Hermione and Ronald bowed their heads in deference. Cornelius Fudge, on the other hand, merely nodded to the pyre and made for the castle. The wizards and witches in the celebrity stand rose and followed suit. Severus lagged behind a little. He wasn't planning on staying in the Great Hall any longer than necessary, as that would only give people opportunity to include him in their small talk. An Order of Merlin, what a farce.

Of course, there was a feast after the ceremony. The Entrance Hall had been filled with tables and the usual house tables were crammed with the parents and siblings of the students. The only place were one had enough space to sit was the Head Table, though even that had twice the number of occupants it usually had. The house elves had surpassed themselves with the cooking. Severus ate slowly and used his trademark glare to keep people from asking questions, or worse, congratulating him on his Order of Merlin. He was placed nearly at the middle of the table, next to Minerva McGonagall. 

"Why, Severus, you look like you've been given a life sentence in Azkaban instead of an Order of Merlin!" she said when he had grunted at the people who were near enough to him to congratulate him. He left as soon as possible according to the laws of courtesy. 

-^-^-

He threw the box containing the medal on his desk and shed his robes. He needed a hot shower and a drink, but not necessarily in that order. He poured himself a generous helping of Ogden's and fell down in a chair 

He very nearly jumped at the knock on the door. He walked towards it, while undoing the wards and opened it. He was surprised to find Hermione standing behind it. She was putting away an old piece of parchment. 

"Miss Granger? What are you doing here? And how do you know where my chambers are?" She looked at him pleadingly.

"Can I come in please?" she asked. He raised one eyebrow, but stepped aside to let her in and closed the door behind her. 

"Can you answer my previous questions?" 

"I have a map of Hogwarts which shows your chambers. As for the other question, I just needed someone kind to talk to," she answered. "Can I have a glass of that too?" she added in one breath. "I could really use that right now." 

"So could I," he said, while summoning a glass. He poured her some of the Whiskey in it and handed it to her. When taking the glass, she touched his hand a little longer than necessary. 

"Congratulations, by the way," she said with a mischievous grin. He grunted. 

"It's an honour, you know, to get an Order of Merlin. And First Class, too. You should be proud," she continued. 

"You can take it," he retorted. "What good does it do, anyway? It doesn't bring anybody back to life. It doesn't turn back time." 

"It announces to everybody that you risked your life. It remembers them you do not belong in Azkaban," she answered. And at his glare, she added: "Oh, I did see the Ministers face when he handed it to you. He doesn't trust you. But not everybody believes him. There are many people who'd rather see him go than stay." 

"I know. But an Order of Merlin doesn't make the people who do not trust me, trust me anyway. Without the protection of Albus, I am bound for Azkaban nevertheless. Now, why did you come here?"

"I got tired of the crowds. There are wizards and witches everywhere. And in the common room there's always Ron bothering me. It's just... I am not used to it anymore." He nodded, but didn't answer. He silently suspected her of another reason, but didn't dare to ask her. They silently emptied their glasses.

"Are you going to take your NEWTs?" he asked suddenly. She looked up in surprise. 

"Yes, of course. I probably could have passed most of them in my sixth year." He nodded.  

"What are you going to do when you leave Hogwarts?" was his next question.

"I don't know. I like most of my subjects. I thought about being a Mediwitch, or an Auror, or maybe doing some research somewhere. I don't know." He nodded again, while a plan formed in his mind. He'd have to talk to Albus first, though. She looked at her watch. 

"I should go," she stated. "It's well past curfew, and though I probably won't see you patrolling the corridors tonight, I doubt Mr. Filch will be too lenient," she said while rising. He nodded and rose as well. He walked to the door and opened it for her, but could think of nothing – appropriate – to say. He finally settled for,

"If the noise of the common room gets too much, feel free to knock at my door." Again, she looked surprised. Then he glanced into the corridor, which was entirely empty, and planted a little kiss on her cheek. 

-^-^-

Author's Note: As I said, I got the Parting Ceremony from Abby (from the sequel of The Other Side of Darkness, called Survivals and Remembrances). 


	11. The First Day

Quick Note: I seem to have lost most of my reviewers by 'killing' Harry. I am sorry, I had to. Rest assured, in the fic that is now boiling up I think he'll live. Only two chapters of this one to go!

Chapter 11 – The First Day

Hermione was poking at her food. The Hogwarts house elves had outdone themselves, as usually at the Leaving Feast, but only the word Leaving made Hermione's appetite vanish. Albus Dumbledore had just held his annual leaving speech. The House Cup had been cancelled, because of the events at Voldemort's downfall. The Quidditch Cup went to Slytherin. As Harry hadn't played the last two games, Gryffindor had lost them. Ginny Weasley usually was a decent Seeker, but Harry's death had shaken her too much. Hermione had looked at Severus shortly when she heard the Headmaster pronounce Slytherin the Quidditch Champions, but he didn't look proud. Professor McGonagall didn't show any emotions, either. It just seemed too trivial, Quidditch. She was glad Severus and Professor McGonagall at least seemed to feel that way as well. 

Ron, too, was silent. He didn't even scowl at the Slytherins for winning the Quidditch Cup. Like Ginny, he had lost his touch after Harry's death and missed quite a few Quaffles. He didn't even seem to hold resentment. Though the Slytherins had generally been thought to sympathise with the Death Eaters, most of them had fought bravely and the mutual antipathy had lessened somewhat. Only Draco Malfoy and his cronies were looked upon with distrust and shunned by the other students. 

Hermione decided to abandon her attempts to eat and just go – anywhere. Anywhere but in the festive atmosphere of the Great Hall, full of people who pretended nothing had happened. She rose and made for the door. Hermione saw Ron follow her and sped up. She didn't want to talk to Ron, now, though she knew he felt the same. Absentmindedly she took a turn, descended a staircase and took another turn. She had left Ron behind – and found herself in front of the entrance to Severus' rooms. 

Unintentionally, she had reached the chambers of the man who had helped her before. She hadn't been there since her nightly visit after the Parting Ceremony, being too busy studying and – though she wouldn't admit that readily – afraid he might turn her away. Knowing he wouldn't be back until the Feast was over, she sat down next to the door, making herself as small as possible. There was no danger of anyone besides Severus discovering her there, as the Slytherin Common Room was in another part of the dungeons and no student from one of the other Houses would think about going into the dungeons for any other purpose than Potions lessons. 

She hadn't sat there long before she heard the swishing of robes. With a long stride Severus reached the door to his rooms, looking both angry and worried. When he saw her, he started, but his expression softened. 

"Miss – Hermione," he said. "Are you all right?" While opening the door, he added: "Come in." She did as he told, looking around as she entered. There was one large room with two doors to the other end, probably leading to a bedroom and a bathroom. In front of a large fireplace like the one in the Gryffindor Common Room, there were a sofa and a dark leather armchair. His desk was littered with books and parchments and most of the walls were covered in bookshelves. She was drawn towards them and let her hand glide over the leather covers. She didn't see him almost smile as she did so. 

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked while pouring himself a glass of Ogden's. She turned around and nodded. 

"The same as you, please." He handed her the glass and sat down in the armchair, leaving the sofa for her. She sat down on it, a little uncomfortable because she was in his rooms, but already used to his presence. 

"Congratulations, Miss Granger. As you are now officially not my student anymore, I can tell you that you have an Outstanding for your Potions NEWT." 

"But I thought those marks weren't known until July?" she asked. 

"That is true – for students. Teachers usually receive a list sooner, but the examination committee contacted me especially because of your extraordinary score. You scored 106%." She blushed with pleasure. "That is the highest score Hogwarts has seen in a long time." She saw something strange in his eyes, but couldn't place it. She didn't dare ask him what he had scored at his NEWTs. 

"Have you already made up your mind regarding your future?" he asked. She was confused: this was already the second time he asked her what her plans were. Was he really interested? Sure enough, he wasn't a man to talk merely for the sake of conversation. 

"No, I haven't. I will have to go to my parents' house first, to sort things out and maybe sell the house. I don't think I will return to the Muggle world any time soon." 

"But that are merely plans for the summer holidays. How about a career?" 

"I don't know. My world has been shaken this year. Now that Voldemort is gone, being an Auror seems futile. And a mediwitch... I don't think I have the social skills one needs for that. Every other career I didn't even consider." She answered thoughtfully. 

"How about Potions?" She looked up in shock. 

"Potions? Why?" she asked. 

"You know my views of teaching, don't you?" When she nodded, he continued. "I won't be teaching here forever, and if I left Hogwarts would need a new Potions Teacher. I talked to Albus, and we agreed you would qualify as a teacher as soon as you took your degree." Hesitantly he added, "If you like it, of course." 

After a long pause, she answered. "I never considered it, but I guess Hogwarts is the closest thing to a home I have. Would you be teaching me?" 

"No. You would have to take an apprenticeship with someone else. That could be intern, but it also could be you'd have to Apparate in every day. I will of course give you a recommendation." She considered it for a while. 

"Well, I like Potions. I think I would like teaching as well. And if I don't I could go into research." She paused again. "I do it." 

"Very well, Miss Granger," he answered. "Of course you are not to spread around the news, you understand that?" She nodded and they were silent again. 

Suddenly she realised what had brought her here tonight. She had missed his presence, the way he could be just there, without speaking. Of course, there were always people in the Common Room, but usually they kept asking her questions or talked so loud you had to perform a Deafening Hex on yourself to be able to think. She relaxed a little on the sofa, curling into the backrest. She folded her hands about the glass as if to warm them.  They sat like that for a long time; both immerged in thought. Slowly, Hermione dozed away, the fire and the alcohol on an empty stomach making her sleepy. 

Severus was still thinking, about her. He really didn't know what to think. During their time at Aberforth's he had grown used to her presence, first only at mealtimes and later also in the evenings. He knew she was smart and had known that for a long time, but never appreciated it until their exile. He was sure she could complete the study in Potions, and he thought it would be better for both if she didn't do that at Hogwarts. For her, because she needed to see something of the world, meet new people and create a life of her own, and for him, because he wouldn't be able to teach her on a daily basis. Not after what she had done at Aberforth's. Suddenly, he got angry with himself for thinking about her that way and threw his glass into the hearth, where the fire burned low. 

Hermione woke up with a shock, confused and wondering where she was. Then she remembered her flight from the Feast and her talk with Severus. And she found herself on his sofa, just awoken. He looked at her in an almost apologetic way. 

"I'm sorry if I woke you, Hermione." So we're back at first-name basis, she thought. She wondered what he meant by that, after being so formal the entire evening. 

"It's fine, Severus," she said, deliberately using his first name as well. "I think I should leave now, before anybody notices my absence. How about the apprenticeship?" Though the question was unclear, he thought he knew what she meant. 

"You will receive an owl regarding the particulars." She nodded and hesitated. 

"Severus?" she tried. He looked her straight into her eyes, but he wasn't using his glare. "I just wanted to thank you for all you have done for me. I know it can't have been easy for you." 

"You are welcome, Hermione," he said. Very welcome, he added mentally. He rose and walked towards the door, but didn't open it yet. She followed him. They both hesitated. Moments passed, without either moving. This time, he was the one who summoned the courage. He bowed down towards her and kissed her deeply. To his great surprise, she didn't pull away but kissed back. 

"You know," he said when finally he pulled away. "You are tearing my world apart."


	12. Epilogue

Epilogue

Hermione woke up rather earlier than necessary. Despite herself, Hermione was nervous. During the past three years she had studied for the exam she would take today. She was now glad that Ron and Harry had dragged her from the library sometimes – back at Hogwarts. She missed them and made up for it by studying twice as hard. 

Of course, she had met Ron sometimes, mostly during holidays when she was invited to come to the Burrow, but she knew it could never be the same again. Ron had just finished the Auror training and now worked as a junior Auror. He didn't have a girlfriend and seemed content to live at the Burrow, and Hermione suspected him of having a crush on her. She had suspected that a long time, since the Yule Ball in their fourth year. And though she didn't have a boyfriend, she knew she couldn't date Ron. Ron was – well, he was Ron. They were both part of the Trio, and it was still awkward to be together when Harry wasn't there. 

She also felt more mature than Ron. Though it seemed he had left some of his more childish traits where he had seen Harry die, he still lived at his mother's house. She wondered if he could even bake an egg or make tea, while she had lived by herself for the past three years. 

Every morning, she had Apparated to the laboratory of her teacher, Professor Crockford, who was in every sense the opposite of Severus Snape. Together with the other apprentice, a girl she vaguely remembered as a Ravenclaw one year above them, she would have lessons, either theoretical or practical. The last year, they had each mostly worked on their separate research projects, a requirement for becoming a Potions Master. 

And now she was to take her final examination, which would qualify her as a Potions Master and allow her to return to Hogwarts. Severus would be glad, she thought. She hadn't heard from him since the night he had kissed her. She hadn't even seen him from a distance on the day they departed. Albus Dumbledore had sent her an owl occasionally to ask about her progress, and she was sure he would have let her know if something serious had happened. 

She sighed and pushed the covers back, stood up and walked to the bathroom. When she had undressed and stepped into the shower, it started spouting her favourite temperature. She took only a short shower, dried herself with a spell and dressed with rather more care than usual. She even applied some makeup, something she didn't bother with usually. 

She wasn't hungry at all, but she knew she had to eat some breakfast. She tried to reason the nerves out of her system, because she knew she would pass the exam, but of course she failed. Ten minutes early, she Apparated to the laboratory - probably for the last time. When she knocked, she heard a strange, but yet familiar voice say 'come in'. She couldn't directly place it, but as she entered, she wanted to hit herself on the head. Of course. 

In the middle of the room, no one else but Severus Snape was talking to Professor Crockford. It was really quite a comical sight; the two men talking were as different as night and day. Severus was still tall, slim, and dark, while Crockford was short, a little fat and wore bright yellow robes. 

"Good morning, Professor Snape, Professor Crockford," she said. She earned a nod from both of them. Only then she noticed the other person in the room, a small witch she hadn't met before. 

"Good morning," the small witch said. "Miss Granger, I suppose? I am Catherine Bingley. Professor Snape and I will oversee your examination today." 

"Pleased to meet you, Professor," Hermione answered, still furious with herself for not mentally preparing to meet Severus. She had known there weren't many wizards qualified to oversee these exams. 

"Shall we start the examination?" Professor Crockford said. "Miss Granger, I trust you are familiar with the procedure?" 

"I am, sir," she answered. She would first have to answer some regular questions, then present the results of her research, and finally she would have to brew a potion. Usually, the most complicated potions also took a lot of time, so they wouldn't come up. Hermione was indeed quite confident she would pass the exam. 

"Let us start with some easy questions," the man said. "Miss Granger, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" She could hardly repress a smile at this question, as she had known the answer even before the start of her first year. 

"Monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant, also known by the name of aconite," she replied while looking at Severus. 

"Very well. Now, when would you harvest it?" he replied.

"During autumn, because then the active ingredient is most abundant. It is to be stored in a dark place, because it easily disintegrates." 

"And what is the use of aconite?" Professor Bingley cut in. 

"It is used in rheumatism, headaches, gout, migraine and cold with high temperatures, and it is the primary ingredient in the Wolfbane Potion. It has to be dosed carefully, though, because it is also highly toxic." She answered rapidly. 

"Now, imagine a patient with gastroenteritis, seizures and irritability. What do you think he has been poisoned with?" Professor Crockford was apparently on turn. 

"Milkweed." She responded. He nodded and continued.

"And what would you do to treat him?" 

"I would use a bezoar, in combination with a lot of water, an antispasmodic and probably a pain killer." Funny, she thought, how becoming a Potions Master was like becoming half an Auror, half a Mediwitch and half an Herbologist. And you had to know magical creatures as well. The questioning continued, mostly by Professor Crockford, while Professor Bingley cut in occasionally and Severus was mostly silent. 

"Now, tell us something about your research project, Miss Granger." It was Professor Bingley who said this and she saw Severus straighten up a little. Of course, he already knew what her subject was. 

"I have been trying to develop a potion to remedy the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse. I know there is little demand for it currently, but if another Dark wizard should arise, it is too late for development. During the last war, usually painkillers were used, but they don't counteract tremors or seizures.

I tested the toxicity, first on mice and then on some volunteers. The actual effect I have mostly tested myself. I have been dosed with the curse a few times, but for mere seconds. Most of the testing I have done on mice, so I do not really have data to prove its effect on human beings. 

The potion itself contains ingredients against tremors, seizures and pain, as well as a small dose of wormwood and asphodel to induce sleep. The other ingredients lessen the effect of the sleeping agents, so an already tried patient will not be in danger.  

I think the formula holds great promise, but the impossibility to test it is an obstacle in further development." 

"Very well, Miss Granger." To her surprise, it was Severus who spoke. "I would like to see the actual formula. Now, however, it is time you show us some of your practical skills." 

"Yes, sir. What will I have to make?" 

"You will find the instructions next to your cauldron. We will supervise you for half an hour and then leave you alone one hour longer. Then the potion has to be ready and will be tested," said Professor Crockford. She nodded and walked over to the cauldron. She almost laughed out loud when she saw which potion she had to prepare. It was the Invisibility Infusion she had made when she was locked up at Aberforth's. She had already guessed it at the question about aconite, but was now certain Severus had not prepared this exam.

As she had only one hour and a half she started preparing the first ingredients and put them on a low fire. Professor Crockford and Professor Bingley were looking at what she was doing, but she worked as carefully as she always did. She knew her system and kept the workbench clean. Severus didn't seem too interested, she thought. She found it odd, really, because at Hogwarts he had always been the looming presence in the classroom. 

After half an hour of supervision, she was left alone in the laboratory. The potion had now reached a stage of simmering for an hour; she had time to clean out some measuring tools she had used. She knew she had passed the exam with flying colours, as she had known she would. That led her thoughts to Severus' behaviour. She already knew he hadn't prepared this exam, or the questions and potion assignment would have been more difficult. And he hadn't even seemed interested in her way of working. Could it be that he had actually that much confidence in her abilities that he already knew she would pass? Or had he already been determined not to let her pass? It was tormenting for Hermione to be left alone with her thoughts. 

The hour crept by, but eventually she heard voices from the other side of the door. She quickly put some of her potion in a vial and cleaned out her cauldron. If it hadn't been for the still-warm potions vial one couldn't have guessed she had been working there two minutes ago. The professors entered the room again. 

"Well, any volunteers for testing? Severus?" Professor Crockford asked merrily. She hated it when he did so happy. It made her think of the insufferable optimism of Professor Dumbledore. Severus merely grunted at the question, but Professor Bingley took up the vial. She measured out a dose and took it, then shimmered twice and vanished from view.

"It certainly seems to have worked, doesn't it?" It was strange to hear a voice coming from thin air. 

"Well, Miss Granger, it seems obvious that you have passed." This was Professor Crockford again. "The only question remaining is what your marks are. Now, there is only one person yet alive who had marks as high as yours. And he is standing right next to me." 

"Congratulations, Miss Granger. You are now officially a Potions Master," said Severus, while extending his hand. He surprised her with that, as he had hardly spoken before. 

"Thank you, Professor," she said softly, while taking his hand. In the meanwhile, the invisible professor had apparently taken a counter-potion, because she had become visible again. 

"Indeed, Miss Granger, congratulations." She produced a parchment and quill. "If you will sign here, it is official," Professor Bingley continued, handing Hermione the quill and indicating a faint line. She signed and handed back the quill. Professor Bingley signed as well, as did Professor Crockford and Severus. He rolled the parchment and handed it to her. 

"Miss Granger, I believe we have some matters to discuss?" 

-^-^-

They had Apparated to Diagon Alley and were now sitting in front of Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, each nursing a cup of coffee. Hermione had ordered lunch as well, as her nerves had been replaced by joy and she was hungry. Professors Crockford and Bingley had looked not a little surprised at Severus' remark, but they had wisely chosen not to comment. 

It was the seventh of October, Hermione thought. Exactly four years ago, she had been a seventh year student in peril of Voldemorts wrath, who was locked up together with her evil Potions Professor in the house of the Headmasters brother. Now, she had just become a Potions Master herself and she certainly was no longer afraid of the man opposite her. But still, he was a puzzle to her. A puzzle of which about two-third of the pieces were missing. 

"Professor, was there something you wanted to talk about?" she dared when nothing seemed to happen. 

"Call me Severus," he said. "I wondered whether you had already changed your mind about teaching." 

"I haven't. I think I'd like it. But it would seem odd if you left now, wouldn't it? Term has just started," she answered, wondering whether he wanted to quit right now or stay until the end of term. 

"Yes. I will stay until summer, if that agrees with you. You should make arrangements with Albus sometime this year, and I will introduce you to my system. In the meanwhile, however, you can do whatever you like." 

"That sounds reasonable. I will send the Headmaster an owl, then. When would you like to show me around?" 

"Anytime you want. If I'm too busy, I could always give you a pile of essays."

"Right. I'll see you soon, then. I have some owls to send, as well as a few Muggle letters," she said. "And I wanted to visit Flourish and Blott's. I had ordered a book that should be there by now." 

"Would you mind if I joined you?" She looked up at him in surprise. "There is a new edition of _Primary Poisons and their Antidotes_ that could be useful."

He paid for the coffee and her lunch, despite her protest. "Believe me, Hermione, I can afford this." Then they made for Flourish and Blotts. The witch at the counter looked extremely surprised to see Hogwarts' Potions Master in company. They handled their business and left the shop. 

"Well, I'd better Apparate home. I'll see you at Hogwarts soon, Severus," she said. He looked around cautiously. The street was crowded, but nobody paid attention to them. He put one hand on her shoulder and gave her a short kiss. She answered, but he pulled away. 

"I'm looking forward to it, Hermione," he said and Disapparated. And no matter how much she tried, she couldn't find a trace of sarcasm.

T H E   E N D 

-^-^-

Author's Notes (long and tedious): 

Caroline Bingley and Lady Catherine are obviously characters in Jane Austen's fabulous novel Pride and Prejudice. What's in a name? 

The monkshood and milkweed questions are based on facts and usage long ago. Again, I won't list the source because of fear for abuse, though the site is offline now and you couldn't find it anyway. 

I am indebted to too many people to list here – because I am influenced by almost everything I read, and, between you and me, that is saying something - but I will name some of them. Just to be on the safe side: what you recognise is probably not mine, but it could be a result of parallel evolution. 

The professional writers: 

Joanne Rowling, obviously, for the wonderful characters. 

Jane Austen: for her entire oeuvre, but especially Pride and Prejudice. Every SS/HG is in fact a derivation of Pride and Prejudice, just like Bridget Jones' Diary. 

J.R.R. Tolkien: well, I guess I didn't put anything in here but Lord of the Rings is fantastic anyway.

Now for the fanfiction writers:

Ezzie with her Destiny of Souls and Just a Kiss, who got me to the fanfiction in general and SS/HG specifically.

Anne and Abby from The Fire and the Rose, which is a beautiful story.

Kalina from The Buried Life, who can make you laugh as well as cry. 

Pigwidgeon37, who wrote The Sybil's Oracle, a fic of monstrous size you won't be able to put away, as well as numerous other stories, 

And Strega Brava, who writes wonderfully and has a huge amount of fics here. 

Of course I also want to thank my beta's: Q0BrA, who judged the plot and general style, but she reads everything you put in front of her as long as Severus is in it, and Chris, who generally doesn't like SS/HG but has kindly corrected my foolish errors. 

And finally I want to thank my reviewers for thinking so highly of me and begging me for updates, because I don't deserve that. I just stole a lot of ideas and put them together. 


End file.
